Prayer of a Refugee
by Crazed Individual
Summary: Kurosaki Ichigo is the most wanted cowboy in all of Karakura. What happens when during a robbery, he makes the stupid mistake of kidnapping Kuchiki Byakuya's little sister? What has he gotten himself into? IchiRuki Western
1. Prayer of a Refugee

**Yaaay! Another fan fiction! Finally!  
Anyway, I don't want to waste a lot of space with a stupid author's note, so moving along!  
I thought of this while listening to music, reading **_**Zombiepowder.**_ **volume four, and when I was flipping through channels and saw something about Jesse James (I do many things at once, as you can see XD). So if you haven't realized by now, this is a Western setting and it has some things from Zombiepowder**_**.**_ **(Nothing about the whole 'Rings of the Dead' or anything like that, just some personality things and the names of the towns and the incredibly large bounty on the main character's head)**

**Just to clear some things up: This is ****not****, in any way, **_**REALISTIC**_**. This is a Western setting, but I like to think of it as a more... modern western, just like ZOMBIEPOWDER. I know the way things were in the Old West and how women were treated, what money was worth, how they got around, how there wasn't phones, etc... but this is **_**my**_** version of the Wild West :) Just wanted to clear that up so no one's confused; I don't want you guys thinking I'm totally stupid when it comes to history. Haha. Just think of it as a ... futuristic western?**

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Bleach or any of the references/places/scenes I used from ZOMBIEPOWDER. … I think that's it. Basically, all I own is the plot of the story, not the characters, not the series, nothing… depressing, I know._  
__**Warnings:**_Nothing really bad, just some swearing, violence, character death, alcohol and possibly tobacco mentions, and some sexual content. It's not explicit/violent enough to make the rating M, so don't worry. I will put a warning at the beginning of each chapter just in case.

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – Prayer of a Refugee**_ (Rise Against)

_Another boring day_… Rukia sighed deeply as she twisted from left to right in the bar stool she was sitting on. She moved a strand of black hair behind her ear, and then leaned her elbow on the bar counter, resting her chin on her palm as her bright violet eyes searched the saloon for something interesting.

"Heeeeeeey, Rukiaaaaaaa…" a man slurred drunkenly, awkwardly plopping on a stool beside Rukia and sliding a hand around her shoulders. He gave Rukia a toothy grin and she frowned in disgust.

"Go away, Yoji."

"C'mon… les' go have some funnn…bathroom's just over there…"

"I said _go away_!"

"Aw fiiine, I'll go ask someone else. Yer' no fun, Rukiaaa…"

"So I've been told."

With that, Yoji stumbled to his feet, grumbling, and swayed towards a slightly tipsy blonde further down the bar. Once he was gone, Rukia sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

She hated this town. She lived in Karakura, a town with too many drunken men, too many girls ready to sell themselves to men, and not enough action. She let out another annoyed sigh and straightened her shirt.

That was another thing she hated; skirts and dresses. They were always so restraining and uncomfortable, never giving her freedom to sit or walk however she pleased. She was forced to wear ridiculous, supposedly feminine, clothing by her elder brother on a daily basis. At the moment it was a too-small, light blue button-up blouse with the top few buttons left open. It didn't cover too much. She was also wearing a flowing white skirt that constantly itched.

Her brother told her to wear these sorts of outfits, for no man would be interested in her if she wore pants like she wanted to.

"Hey, Rukia, why'd you turn down Yoji? He's so cute!" a very scantily-clad girl sat beside Rukia and many other girls swarmed over along with her.

"He's a jackass, he isn't cute." Rukia grumbled.

"I don't think Rukia is ever going to get a boyfriend…" she heard one of the girls 'whisper' to another. "I mean, all she wants to do is fight. She hates the cute clothes her brother has made for her, would rather shoot a gun than get laid, and she doesn't even act like a lady! She'd be better off as a guy."

Rukia sighed and stood up, making her way through the crowd of girls looking for her older brother, only to find him sitting at a table with two other men and four girls. One girl with quite a large amount of make-up on was sitting in Byakuya's lap, smoking, as he dealt cards out. She sighed. He was _still _gambling. Pathetic.

She went and sat back in her chair, leaning her cheek on her palm, huffing in annoyance and boredom. Things were so _dull_ here. '_I wish some more interesting things would happen here… like a robbery…yeah, that would make things livelier._' She thought, humming to herself.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the saloon doors swung open and a man entered. Rukia blinked, turning her body and watching him in interest.

He was very tall and lean, clad in plain black pants and a white button up shirt beneath a black vest. Upon his head, covering a majority of his vibrant orange spikes and bright amber eyes, was a black cowboy hat. Around his neck was an oddly-shaped silver pendant, and there was black leather bands around both wrists. As he walked into the saloon, the loud stomping of his boots caught Rukia's attention and she glanced down to see heavy boots with multiple buckles criss-crossing all over them. He was incredibly handsome, and looked very young.

Rukia stood up, making her way through the crowd that had formed around the entrance to get a better look at the unknown man.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the owner of the saloon yelled from behind the bar, shocked. The girls began to let out shrieks, terrified as they each held onto a man. An older man rushed over and pushed Rukia further back into the crowd, behind the men.

"Stay back, girl! This man here is a criminal!" he whispered to her. Rukia raised an eyebrow in interest.

"A criminal?" She asked. "How do you know?"

The man glanced back at her and let out a scoff. "Girlie, he's all over the papers. This man's got a thirty thousand dollar bounty on his head!" At this, Rukia's eyes widened in amazement and she shoved past the man, ignoring his protests, and watched the criminal excitedly.

The man walked into the saloon fully, and the other men began to murmur, pulling out their guns and watching his every move. Swiftly, the man pulled out two intricately designed black and silver guns, pointing them in every direction, making the men freeze.

"No one move, or I'll shoot." He warned. Judging by his looks, and the sound of his voice, Rukia realized he couldn't be as old as most criminals in the area. What was such a young man doing robbing a saloon? … Such a young man was wanted for thirty _thousand_ dollars?

The man walked up to the bar and aimed one of his guns at the owner's face, whose eyes widened fearfully. The man threw a large brown sack at him.

"Put all of the money in there, and I won't kill you." He said, cocking his gun. The bartender gulped and nodded, then quickly opened the cash register, shoving the wads of money in with shaky hands.

Everyone in the saloon was deathly silent, watching in horror, except for Rukia, who was watching in amusement and excitement. Everyone remained immobile until all of the money was in the bag, and the man snatched it back, about to exit the saloon. Once he reached the doors, before he was about to swing them open, Byakuya daringly stood up from his spot at the table and pulled out a gun, cocking it and aiming it at back of the man's head. The man didn't speak, nor turn around.

"I suggest you leave the money here." He said coolly. The man smirked and turned around to face Byakuya. From out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl with black hair to his left poking her head over the men's shoulders to get a better look, her violet eyes full of excitement and interest. He quickly contemplated the idea in his head, and then reached a hand into the crowd, swiftly grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him, earning yells of protest.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rukia growled, trying to tug herself out of the man's grip. He did not answer her; he simply kept a firm grip on her arm. She narrowed her eyes and continued to yell obscenities at the man, though it was clear he would not let her go.

He heard a few women gasp and begin to whisper worriedly, while men braced themselves and aimed their guns at him. He pushed her in front of him and held his gun to her temple. Rukia stopped shouting, but she wasn't shaking. She wasn't even scared. Her eyes trailed over to the gun pointed at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Do anything and I'll shoot her." The man threatened, pressing the gun against her temple harder. Rukia looked up at him and glared. Byakuya hesitated, but dropped his gun onto the table, lifting his hands into the air. The man let out a laugh, then without warning, grabbed Rukia's wrist and ran out of the saloon.

"H-Hey, come back here!"

Hoards of people began screaming and shouting, rushing out of the saloon towards the two. The man dragged Rukia along with him, and once they reached a horse, he threw her onto it, hopping on behind her. He grabbed onto the reins and pulled hard, making the horse back up onto its rear legs and let out a whinny, and then speed forward.

Some people shot at them, but the man skilfully evaded all of the bullets by steering his horse out of the way. Once they were far out of shooting range, the man slowed his horse down to a trot, smirking. He noticed the girl hadn't said a thing, so he looked down to see her looking around at their surroundings in interest.

"You okay, girl? Too traumatized to talk or somethin'?"

"Me, traumatized?" Rukia glanced back at the man, scoffing. "Please, I'm not scared at all!" The man blinked.

"You're… not scared? Whaddaya mean? Girls always scream and hide, saying stuff like '_Oh, save me!_' but you didn't even scream when I held the gun at your head!"

"…Was I supposed to?"

"Well, yeah! Isn't that what girls do?"

"…So you're saying, if a gun was held to a man's head, he wouldn't scream?"

"No _sane_ man would."

Without warning, Rukia turned around to face the man, reaching beneath her skirt and pulling a small silver pistol from out of a holster attached to her thigh, and pointed it in between his eyes. His eyes widened and he let out a yell, almost falling off of the horse.

"Fuck, girl! Are you _nuts_! What the hell're you doin' with a gun?"

"Guys can't scream, eh? Well, _Mr._ _Thirty Thousand Dollar Criminal_, I believe I just heard you scream."

"Th-that wasn't a scream… I was surprised."

"I was surprised when you held the gun to _my_ head, but _I_ didn't scream."

"Aw, just shut up, will ya? Damn, girls are annoying."

"So are men."

"I said, shut up."

They rode in silence for a few more moments, until Rukia put her gun back and sighed, running a hand through the horse's mane.

"Why do you have a gun, anyway?" The man asked curiously.

"I come prepared. There's perverts everywhere. Plus, what if there's something fun going on and I want to join?" Rukia grinned widely.

"You're one weird girl. You like action, huh?" the man chuckled. Rukia shrugged.

"So am I allowed to leave, or am I stuck with you now?"

"You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."

"Oh, wonderful." Rukia sighed.

"You don't seem too upset." He commented.

"Why should I be? I was planning on escaping that wretched town anyway; I live with a damn pretty boy for a brother, who only cares about women, money, and gambling. I'm _glad_ to get away!"

"Pretty boy?" The man blinked. "You related to that Kuchiki bastard?"

"Unfortunately." Rukia huffed.

"Hmm…" was all the man said. Suddenly, a wide smirk came across his face and he began to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Rukia asked, glancing back at him.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking of how much money I can get off of Byakuya if he wants you back."

"What? You're _not_ holding _me_ hostage!"

"Hmm… this'll work out perfectly…"

"No way. _Never_."

"Oh, come on. If you cooperate, I'll give you some freedom. I just want the money. After he gets you back you can run away or somethin'."

"…Fine, jackass."

"Love you too, darlin'."

"Don't call me _'darlin'_, that's disgusting."

"Aw, you're hurting my feelings. So what do you want me to call you? Sugar-pie? Gorgeous? Princess? Sweet -"

"I have a _name_, you know! Rukia Kuchiki."

"Kuchiki… rotting wood… what an ugly name."

"I'm sure your name isn't all that glamorous either."

"You don't know who I am?" The man frowned deeply. Rukia blinked and shook her head. "Oh, well, Ichigo Kurosaki at your service! Most wanted criminal in Karakura, along with a few other towns." He boasted, puffing out his chest and grinning proudly.

"_Ichigo_?" Rukia burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Your name is _Ichigo_?" she snickered. "What were your parents thinking when they named you that?"

"Hey, sh-shut up! It means number one protector!"

"And it also means strawberry… hmm, Strawberry Kurosaki. Has a nice ring to it."

"Don't even THINK about calling me that!"

"Why not, Strawberry?"

"I swear, I'll shoot yo -"

"Ooh, Strawberry's getting aggressive!"

"Oh yeah? I'll call you Rotwood!"

"Go ahead, it's better than Strawberry!"

"Rotwood!"

"Strawberry!"

"Bitch!"

"Strawberry!"

"Rotwood!"

"Strawberry!"

"Well, you…!" Ichigo froze, trying to think of a comeback. He blinked.

"You can't even come up with anything!" Rukia snickered. Ichigo growled.

"I swear, one more word and I really will hurt you."

"Aww, you'd hit a poor, innocent girl like me?" Rukia tilted her head backwards and pouted. Ichigo averted his eyes, frowning as he watched the cactuses whiz by.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you're even a girl…" he said under his breath, but Rukia heard and growled, making to elbow him, but he evaded it.

"I'm so going to kick your ass, you stupid little strawberr -" Suddenly, Ichigo grabbed his gun and hit Rukia in the back of the head with it, knocking her out. She limply fell backwards against his chest.

"Finally shut that bitch up…"

When Ichigo roughly pulled on the reins to slow down his horse (it had sped up during their argument), Rukia's head fell backwards, onto his shoulder. He glanced down at the female, and couldn't help but stare.

Her black bangs fell over her closed eyes. Her eyelashes brushed against her soft cheeks, and her light pink lips were formed into a pout as she breathed softly, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

"The name Kuchiki doesn't suit you at all… such a gorgeous person doesn't deserve a name meaning 'rotting wood'…" he murmured, brushing her bangs out of her face. Suddenly, he froze. … What the hell?

He just called her gorgeous… and he just touched her. Ew.

Ichigo quickly shook his head and carefully placed Rukia on his horse's neck so that she was pressed against it, her face smothered in the hair. He didn't want her touching him, or he'd get distracted by her beaut - err… her annoying breathing. Yeah, her breathing.

* * *

**Well, there you go. XD Tell me what you think! It's **_**very **_**hard to write a story with a setting like this, so I'm trying really hard! I actually enjoy writing it though, so that's good.  
**_(By the way, 'Kuchiki' is actually translated to rotting wood, if you didn't know that. – Remembered this when I was re-reading volume one and I saw the title page thing with their code names… yeah...)_


	2. Over My Head

**Heey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys like the plot! I was worried it wouldn't be good, or people wouldn't like it, but apparently you do! (Which is good.) So yeah, here's the second chapter! **

**Oh, by the way, each chapter will be titled after a song that helped me write that chapter… music really inspires me... Sometimes it'll just be the title that inspires me, the lyrics, or even just the beat of the song. But whatever it is, I'll list the song and the artist(in brackets beside the title), and you should download that song. :D They're all really good songs…I think so, at least.  
**_**  
Disclaimer: **_I do not own Bleach or the characters... _  
__**Warnings:**_Nothing really in this chapter...oh, but I should warn you: it's very stupid. XD

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_**Chapter 2 – Over My Head**_ (Sum 41)

"…And so she has to stay here?"

"Yeah, I've decided to keep her hostage... although she's not exactly here against her own will. I can get quite a bit of money from Kuchiki Byakuya if he wants her back."

"You're going to get a shit load of money, then... You know how rich he is. But I still can't believe you actually took her with you in the first place!"

"I just… I wasn't thinking, okay?"

"Sure, whatever. Where is this girl anyway?"

"She's in the bedroom sleeping. She hasn't woken up since I knocked her out a few hours ago."

"Hmm, is she cute? I -"

"Renji, shut up. You have a girlfriend."

"Aw, come on Ichigo, I didn't mean it like _that_..."

Rukia let out a deep sigh as she shifted around under the covers. She could hear faint voices outside of the room, but didn't pay attention to them; the bed was much too comfy. She buried her face deeper into the pillow. There was a unique smell; most likely Ichigo's. He smelled like cinnamon and something else she couldn't quite name, but she liked the smell. A lot.

Suddenly, the door opened and Rukia slowly sat up, looking around curiously.

"You up yet, Rotwood?" Ichigo asked. Rukia's eyes narrowed.

"What do you want, Strawberry?"

Ichigo was at the door, with another man. He had bright red hair tied in a ponytail, expensive-looking sunglasses pushed up on his tattooed forehead, and his plain white shirt was unbuttoned, showing off some more tattoos on his sculpted chest. His eyes lit up once he saw Rukia and he grinned.

"Damn, she's cute, Ichigo! You dog!" He exclaimed, punching Ichigo's shoulder playfully. Ichigo glared at him.

Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"This is Renji." Ichigo told Rukia, gesturing back at the man with his head. "He's my partner."

"Partner? I didn't know you liked men, Strawberry." Rukia smirked. Ichigo turned red.

"I-I meant _working_ partner, you idiot! Not like that! That's fuckin' disgusting!" he yelled angrily. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"I was kidding, idiot."

"Whatever, Rotwood. You're not very funny." He muttered.

"Shut up, Strawberry!"

"So… your name is Rotwood?" Renji blinked. "Such a... well, _ugly_ name doesn't suit you at all..."

"No, my name is Rukia. Rotwood is something Strawberry over here oh-so childishly came up with." Rukia said, glaring at the orange-haired man in front of her. His eyes narrowed.

"This coming from someone calling me _Strawberry_!" He clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

"Yeah, but - !"

"Guys!" Renji interrupted. "Stop being little kids and arguing… c'mon, this is serious. What are you gonna do, Ich? What if Byakuya finds our hideout?"

"He's too much of an idiot." Rukia sighed, inspecting her fingernails. "The first thing on his mind will be money or women. He's probably forgotten about me already."

Renji and Ichigo glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Nice brother." Renji commented. Rukia shrugged. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, straightening out her clothes.

"How are those even comfortable?" Renji asked, blinking. Rukia sighed.

"They're not. Do you have anything else I can wear?" she asked, looking up. Ichigo shrugged.

"I obviously don't, but maybe Renji's girl will."

"Yeah, Rangiku is outside so I'll go ask her." Renji said, exiting the room. Once Ichigo and Rukia were left alone in the room, there was an awkward silence. Rukia blinked a few times, about to say something, until she was interrupted.

"_Ichigooooooo_! Where is this girl?" A loud, feminine was heard from downstairs. Rukia jumped, taken aback by the sudden shriek.

"C'mon, Rotwood." Ichigo sighed, leaving the room. Rukia glared at the nickname, but followed.

They passed many rooms as they walked down the long hallway. Rukia looked around in interest. It wasn't as big as Byakuya's house, but it was much more pleasant, even though it _was_ owned by a robber with quite a large bounty on his head. Rukia felt more at home here than she ever had in her own house.

When they reached the front room, Rukia saw Renji standing with a lady. She wore a flowing black dress, with a pink sash tied just below her _extremely _large bust, and long strawberry-blonde hair going down her back in large ringlets. She looked kind and was very pretty. Her aqua eyes brightened and she beamed at Rukia.

"Aw, she's gorgeous!" the woman rushed up to Rukia and hugged her tightly. Rukia winced as her face was squished in between the woman's breasts.

"Err, Rangiku…I think you're suffocating the poor girl…" Renji said quietly. Rangiku quickly broke away and Rukia forced a smile, though she was still a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm Rangiku! And you are…?"

"I'm R-Rukia…"

"Ah! Nice to meet you, Rukia! Well, come on! Let's go to my house and find you some new clothes! We'll find you something that'll knock Ichigo's boots off! You'll be the cutest girlfriend he's ever had!" She grinned widely, winking. "Not that you aren't already, of course!" Ichigo gaped and Rukia's eyes widened.

"But I'm not -"

"LET'S GO!"

She dragged Rukia out of the room before Ichigo or Renji could say anything. Renji blinked. "Well, now that she mentions it..." He snickered slightly. Ichigo frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I could see you and Rukia together." Renji grinned widely. Ichigo's eyes widened. "You've gotta admit, Ich, she's real cute... She looks like your type."

"She is _not _my type!" Ichigo said angrily. "You and _Rangiku_ are perfect for each other, because you're both blind!"

"Uh-huh." Renji nodded. "I don't understand why you're getting so defensive, Ichigooooo..."

"Shut up," Ichigo snarled. "I _will_ shoot you."

"Pah!" Renji grinned. "You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet?"

"Nah, I'd rather go get a hold of Byakuya, you know... regarding the ransom."

"Oh," Ichigo perked up. "You're right. I forgot."

"Yeah, too busy thinkin' 'bout how cute Rukia's gonna look when Rangiku's done with her." The redhead snickered.

"I will _kill_ you!"

* * *

After a short walk across the deserted roads of the area, they were at Rangiku's. She led Rukia inside, and up the small set of stairs into her room, which was decorated heavily in purple satin.

"Now, let's see… hopefully I have some clothes that will fit you…" Rangiku rummaged through her walk-in closet, throwing out clothes. Rukia blinked as she looked around. All of these houses seemed so… homely, compared to hers. She liked them much better.

"Aha, here we go! I made these clothes for my little cousin Momo, but she didn't like them…" Rangiku pulled out a short white frilly skirt and a light pink shirt that did not have straps or sleeves. Rukia blinked.

"Rangiku… you made those? I've never seen clothing like that before…"

"Yup! Now try them on!" Rangiku threw them at Rukia, who caught them quickly.

"Err, I don't know if I'd actually wear them…" she said quietly. "It's a little...revealing..."

"Nonsense, it's all I have! Go on!" Rangiku shoved Rukia behind a screen. Rukia sighed and began to change.

"Perfect!" Rangiku shrieked, grinning as Rukia stepped out from behind the screen once she was finished. Rukia raised an eyebrow. _Perfect_?

The skirt was very short, barely reaching mid-thigh. The frills didn't help, either. The shirt was very, _very_ tight. It hugged her body and barely covered her breasts.

"Err, Rangiku… I don't know… I - "

"Oh, shush! It looks amazing! Ichigo will _die_!" she grinned. "Come on, now! We have to fix your hair!" she dragged Rukia over to her vanity. Rukia's eyes widened once she eyed all of the beauty tools on Rangiku's vanity.

This was going to be a long day…

* * *

"…Just put me through, to Byakuya, God damn it!" Rukia could hear Ichigo yelling from inside as she walked up to the porch. She entered the house, waving goodbye to Rangiku, only to see him with his back to her. He knew she was there, so he raised a hand in greeting, but didn't turn around. He had the phone to his ear, and he was tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm getting _very _impatient, you little fucker. I've been on the line for _ages_. I swear, if you don't put me through this instant, I'll blast your fucking head o -" suddenly, he cut off, smiling, satisfied. "Byakuya?" he said suddenly. "Good, listen. I have something to tell you. You'll wanna hear this, I'd think. This is Kurosaki, the one who was at the saloon earlier… yep, your sister? Well, she's right beside me, all tied up and scared." Ichigo grinned and Rukia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's cryin' her eyes out. You never know what I'll do to her… Well, if you want her back, I'll have to set a price… say, three thousand? Yes, dead serious… You have exactly a month…On the first Monday of August, if the money isn't here by then, I'll shoot her… Okay, you have a deal." Ichigo hung up, smirking. "Heh. Guess what I -" he turned to Rukia, but didn't finish. His jaw dropped. Rukia smiled awkwardly.

She was still wearing the clothing Rangiku had given her, and to make it worse, Rangiku had decorated Rukia's hair with a silky pink ribbon. She had also slapped and pinched Rukia's cheeks endlessly to get some color in her face. Thankfully, Rangiku had allowed Rukia to borrow a flimsy white knitted cardigan to put on top of the shirt, for Rukia refused to leave the house without some sort of coverage.

"…Rangiku had a lot of fun." Rukia shrugged. She looked at Ichigo, who was still staring. She blinked.

Ichigo finally snapped out of his daze, turning a bright shade of red. He adjusted his hat on his head nervously. "Sure…I-I gotta go..." Rukia blinked.

"To where?"

"I uh, I dunno... I think... I've gotta go rob someone." Ichigo stuttered. He glanced out the window, examining the night sky. "Er, yep, it's about that time... I'll... I'll see you later." He said quickly, brushing past Rukia and out the front door. Rukia frowned, watching him through the window as he shook his head, rubbing his forehead and rushing towards his horse.

"Weird..."

* * *

**Heh, I know the part at the end was... odd, but I added it anyway. Yeah, Renji (and sometimes Rangiku - please don't ask why I picked her for his girlfriend, by the way. LOL) will be playing a big part... I had to add him as Ichigo's partner; I love him so much. XD**


	3. Here I Am

**Yay! I got so many reviews for the last chapter, I'm so happy! XD **

**Thank you so much to everyone who is reviewing, adding this to favourites, and adding this to alerts! It means a lot to me :) – I'll make this author's note short because I tend to talk a lot if I don't stop myself.**  
_**  
Disclaimer: **_… _Nothing. I don't own anything. XD  
__**Warnings: **__Another short chapter with a very cheesy beginning, and a poorly written ending… oh, and some swearing, I think._

* * *

_**Chapter 3 - Here I Am**_(Brian Adams)

Rukia sighed heavily as she wandered the halls of Ichigo's house. When she had woken up that morning, she'd entered his room and expected him to be there so she could annoy the living daylights out of him, but the room had been empty. She had searched other rooms of the house, but Ichigo was nowhere to be found. He _had_ to be home – he couldn't possibly be stupid enough to leave a _hostage_ alone in his house.

Rukia walked through the kitchen and headed outside, thinking she'd find him out front, but it was deserted. She frowned, then shrugged. Oh well, she'd look for him later.

Rukia began to hum to herself as she walked around the house, going into the backyard where Ichigo had a large pen for his horse to run around in. She looked into the large, circular pen, expecting to see his horse alone, only to see someone else in there too.

It was still early, so the sun was still rising. The orange-gold sun reflected off of Ichigo's face as he ran around the pen, playing with his horse, a big grin on his face and his eyes bright. Rukia's breath caught in her throat. He looked _amazing_.

His hair was swaying with the wind, and he had his shirt unbuttoned, showing off his toned chest and muscles. Rukia couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She slowly walked up to the pen, leaning on one of the posts as she stared.

Ichigo continued to rush around with the horse, its long white mane flowing behind it as it galloped beside him, neighing occasionally in happiness. His horse stopped, turning to face Ichigo and nuzzled his cheek. Ichigo laughed, shutting his eyes as it licked his cheek and grinned as he pet the horse's neck. He hopped onto the horse, quickly grabbing the reins and galloping around the pen. When he came to where Rukia was, he stopped his horse and looked down at her, blinking.

"Rotwood?" he asked. "You're up?"

Rukia shook herself out of her daze and turned red, clearing her throat and nodding. "Y-Yeah…"

Ichigo smirked. "Why're you just standin' there starin' at me with that stupid look on your face? Am I that handsome?" he teased.

"N-no way!" Rukia said, though she knew she was lying through her teeth. "You wish. As _if_ I'd want to look at someone as _ugly_ as you."

"Aww, Rotwood, you're hurtin' my feelings." Ichigo feigned sadness, taking a dramatic pose and then sliding off of his horse, hitting it lightly on the behind, telling it to go ahead.

"Your horse is gorgeous…" Rukia muttered, watching the large white horse gallop around, the sun radiating off of its graceful, white body. "What's its name?"

"It's not _it_, it's _she_." Ichigo laughed, exiting the pen and leaning on a post beside Rukia, watching his horse. "Her name's Serenity."

"And you named her?" Rukia raised an eyebrow, glancing up at him.

"No," Ichigo shook his head, "A good friend of mine… she named her. She was there when I first stole Serenity and she wanted to name her." He chuckled.

"You _stole_ her?" Rukia gasped. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"She was with an abusive owner. She had bruises and cuts everywhere, especially on her legs. Plus, she was all skin and bones. The fuckin' idiot who owned her worked her to no end and never fed her."

"Oh… poor thing…" Rukia said sadly. Ichigo nodded.

"Anyway," he said, standing straight and raising his arms above his head, stretching. Rukia had to force herself not to stare at his chest. "I'm going inside, want some breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure." Rukia nodded, dusting off her skirt and following him back to the front of the house.

"So why are you wearing those again?" Ichigo asked, gesturing towards Rukia's blue shirt and white skirt. "I thought you hated them."

"I do, but I prefer these over the ones Rangiku gave me… plus, I didn't want you gawking at me again."

"I was _not_ gawking!" Ichigo protested, cheeks pink. "I was just… shocked at what she chose!"

"Yeah, sure."

"_Really_!"

"No, really, I believe you!"

"Don't get sarcastic with me, Rotwood!"

"_Strawberry_!"

"Rotwood!"

"Strawberry!"

"Rotwood! Rotwood, Rotwood, Rotwood!"

* * *

After quite some time of arguments and name-calling, Ichigo decided to shut Rukia up by showing her around town.

Blue Note was a small town, with very few houses, that was mostly inhabited by criminals or drug dealers and addicts. Rukia felt a bit nervous as she passed by some of the houses. There was usually people sitting out on the front porch, so as she walked by, they stared at her. While the neighborhood wasn't full of Rukia's opinion of a good crowd, Ichigo assured her that they were harmless. They usually kept to themselves and no one in the area was worried.

There were also a few bars, and there weren't many plants or grass; it was mostly sand, rocks, and cactuses. Ichigo's property was probably the greenest out of all of them, Rukia guessed, and it was also the nicest. Ichigo had also told Rukia that there was another town about an hour away called Alcantara, and that Karakura was about three hours away.

"So… that's basically Blue Note." Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair as he and Rukia walked down the road back to his house. Rukia looked around her.

"There's not much here, is there?" she asked. Ichigo shook his head.

"Nope, this is probably the shittiest town you could ever visit." He shrugged.

"So why do you live here?"

"Well, there are no sheriffs, so I won't be caught easily, and there's really no one to bother me. People here are always so drunk or high they can't even talk properly. I used to live in a much better town, but…I moved." Ichigo finished quickly. Rukia blinked then nodded.

"Oh…"

"Hey, Ichigo!" they heard a loud voice and turned their heads to see Renji waving at them. He was beside a house, along with Rangiku, and three horses. Renji grinned and ran up to them.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"I was showing Rotwood around Blue Note." Ichigo shrugged as Rukia glared at him for the nickname. Renji nodded thoughtfully.

"Actually Ich, I'm glad I ran into you… Rangiku and I saved some horses from Aizen and I was wondering if you needed one. We only need two of 'em."

"Nah, I'm good with Serenity." Ichigo smiled, but he glanced down and saw Rukia's violet eyes shining bright. He rolled his eyes. "But maybe Rotwood wants one."

"Really?" Rukia gasped, looking up at Ichigo with wide eyes. Ichigo shrugged and nodded.

"Come on, then!" Renji grinned again, dragging Rukia over to the horses. "Alright, pick."

Rukia examined the horses. One was large and cream colored, with unique red patterns all over its body. The other was smaller, and a light ash color with a black patch around one eye. The last one was a graceful, pure white horse with a silky silver mane and tail, and the bottoms of its legs were grey and it had ice-blue eyes. Rukia gasped.

"The first one is Zabimaru, the second is Haineko, and the last is Shirayuki." Rangiku told her.

"Shirayuki… she's gorgeous…" Rukia whispered. Rangiku grinned.

"I knew you'd like her; I already picked Haineko and Renji picked Zabimaru."

"So I can keep her?" Rukia said quietly and Renji nodded. Rukia grinned and rushed up to her horse, running a hand down her back. She gave the horse a quick hug, then ran over to Ichigo who was watching from off to the side and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Strawberry!" she said happily. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yeah, sure, just go." Ichigo mumbled, cheeks pink. Rukia quickly broke away and rushed back over to her horse.

"Hmm, someone's in love." Renji joked, walking up to Ichigo.

"What? I am not! Don't even say that!" Ichigo scoffed.

"Relax, Ich, I was kidding... but after seeing your reaction, I'm not too sure. I think you're beginnin' to feel a little somethin'..." Renji grinned. Ichigo glared.

"I am not, I can guarantee you that. She's crazy. Besides Renji, it's been a _day. _You couldn't possibly fall in love with someone in a day.""

"Yup, you could. You've always been the type to fall fast, and _hard_... It's obvious, especially when you look at her with those _eyes_."

"What eyes?" Ichigo blinked.

"You have a certain shine in your eyes when you see her." Renji smirked. "One I haven't seen since… you know."

"Renji don't bring that up…" Ichigo growled. "…Please."

"I wasn't going to." Renji sighed. "But Ichigo, if you do end up realizing your feelings for her, let me be the best man, 'kay?" he winked, slapping Ichigo on the back.

"Renji!" Ichigo roared. Renji burst out laughing and ran as Ichigo began to chase him.

* * *

**Hehe, yeah, I don't like this chapter. It seemed poorly written to me…but this is the last boring chapter. ... Hopefully.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review :D**


	4. For You

**Okay, chapter four!  
Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! Especially you, andraq. I love reading your reviews; they're so long XD they make me happy.  
That's the thing; I love long reviews, and I've gotten so many… I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this. **  
**Well, I suppose that's all… anyway, continuing.**  
_**  
Disclaimer: **__Don't own Bleach. Nope, nope. _  
_**Warnings: **__Badly written chapter, sucky ending, violence, swearing, and character death_

_

* * *

  
_

_**Chapter 4 – For You**_ (Staind)

"Yo, Ichigo! Ya ready yet?" Renji's loud voice could be heard faintly from outside. Ichigo looked up from the newspaper he was reading, that currently had a front page story on his latest robbery.

"Rotwood!" he yelled loudly, getting up and dropping the newspaper onto the recliner. "Come on, let's go!"

After a few moments, Rukia rushed into the room excitedly. "Really?" she asked. "Come on, then!" she grabbed Ichigo's arm and pulled him out of the house. She rushed over to her horse and got on, waiting for Ichigo. Ichigo got his horse and saddled up, and then they headed over to where Renji was waiting for them a few meters ahead.

They were currently heading for Alcantara, the town Ichigo had mentioned to Rukia. Ichigo had said Renji needed to go there to meet someone and that he wanted to visit a friend. Rukia was excited at the thought of travelling to a new town, so she had forced Ichigo to take her along with him.

"Alright then, let's go." Renji pulled on the reins of his horse and it immediately began to speed forward. Ichigo and Rukia followed.

"So what is Alcantara like?" Rukia looked at Renji curiously as they went down the deserted roads.

"It's a poor, small town, but they're good people there. You'll like it. Better then Karakura, I'll tell you that. No stuck-up bastards like your brother."

Rukia nodded thoughtfully as they sped up a bit.

After a little over an hour of riding and after some pit stops, they finally made it to Alcantara. Rukia saw that it was a small town, just like Renji had said. It was very cramped, with many houses and stores, a large saloon, and a medium-sized schoolhouse off to the side.

"You two look around, I'll be back. Zaraki's waitin' for me." Renji told them, getting off his horse and walking off.

"Can we go to the schoolhouse for a bit?" Ichigo asked as they got off their horses. Rukia shrugged and nodded curiously.

"Yeah, sure… this town looks really nice…"

"Yeah, it is." Ichigo agreed, finishing up tying their horses and walking down the streets with Rukia.

"Hey, Ichigo!" they heard a faraway voice. Rukia looked to see a middle-aged man with long white hair walking by, grinning. "How have you been?"

"Good, thanks Ukitake!" Ichigo said, smiling.

"Huh?" Rukia blinked. "They know who you are?"

"Of course…" Ichigo blinked.

"So then… wouldn't they be scared? Or try and kill you, at least?"

"Oh, that." Ichigo laughed. "No, all of the money I steal from places I give to the people here. They need it more than anyone else. They know I'd never do anything to harm them." he shrugged.

"Really?" Rukia looked up at him, smiling. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all… "That's nice of you."

Ichigo shrugged again. A few moments after, they reached the schoolhouse. He entered with Rukia and looked around.

"Hello?" he called. Rukia examined the inside.

It was plain, with painted light blue walls, and a plain wooden floor. There were rows of desks for students, and a large white desk at the front of the class for the teacher. Behind it was a small walk-in closet for supplies and a messy chalkboard.

"Ichigo, is that you?" a light voice called. Someone walked into the room and Rukia looked towards them.

It was a young woman, with long chestnut hair that flowed down to her waist. She had a large bust and big, bright grey eyes. She was grinning brightly as she saw Ichigo.

"Hey, Orihime" Ichigo smiled. He turned to Rukia. "This is Inoue Orihime. She's the teacher here, and a good friend of mine."

"Hello there!" Orihime grinned, walking over to them. Rukia smiled politely .

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Rukia."

"Wow, she's really pretty, Ichigo!" Orihime said happily. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right, she -"

"_Ichyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_?" a high voice was heard. "Is Ichy here?" a little girl with bright pink hair ran into the room. She looked up with her bright eyes and pink cheeks. "Ichy, you came back!" she shrieked happily.

"Hey, Yachiru! How's my favourite girl?" Ichigo grinned, crouching down to her height as she rushed in front of him, looking up happily.

"I missed you!" she hugged him tightly. Ichigo chuckled and hugged her back.

Orihime smiled brightly. "Kenpachi's been really busy lately, so I've been babysitting Yachiru almost every day. She always asks when you'll be stopping by to see her." Ichigo looked up at Orihime and grinned widely. He then glanced back down at the young girl warmly.

"I missed you too, Yachiru. Hey, I got you something." He broke away from the little girl and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small necklace with a silver chain and a beautiful pink flower pendant with diamonds in it. It looked very expensive. Yachiru's eyes widened in shock and admiration and she took the necklace out of his hands gingerly, looking at it.

"Ichy, it's so pretty! It's like the one I gave you!" she gasped. Ichigo smiled.

"So you like it? I saved up a lot to get it for you. And I still wear the one you gave me; it's my good luck charm." He winked. He took it back from her and unlocked it, placing it on her neck and locking it again. Yachiru looked down at it, playing with it in between her fingers, grinning.

Rukia smiled as she watched Ichigo. She'd never seen him so kind. He looked nice… being like that towards a little kid. She was about to smirk and say something, until a loud gunshot was heard.

Ichigo gasped as his head shot up. He stood quickly, putting his hands on Yachiru's shoulder, steering her in the direction of Rukia, who Orihime pushed under the teacher's desk, along with Yachiru. Yachiru whimpered and shut her eyes tightly, clinging to Rukia who desperately tried to see what was going on through a crack in the desk.

"Ichigo, what is it?" Orihime asked worriedly. Before Ichigo could answer, the door burst open and two men walked in, carrying guns. Ichigo took in a deep breath and stepped in front of Orihime, blocking her from view.

"Stark, Yammy! What are you two doing here?" he asked angrily.

"Where is Byakuya's sister? We heard she was here." The one named Stark said and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Sh-she's not here!" he said quickly.

"Liar!" Yammy roared, aiming his gun at Ichigo. Before he could shoot, Orihime let out a scream and tugged Ichigo behind her as soon as he fired. Before Ichigo could comprehend what had happened, he felt Orihime slump against him.

"Are you okay, Ichigo?" she asked quietly, looking up at him weakly. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"O-Orihime… no…" he whispered, beginning to shake. He looked down at his hands, which were around Orihime. They were covered in blood… Orihime's blood.

"I didn't… I couldn't let them kill you, Ichigo… better me than you." Orihime whispered, her voice beginning to crack.

"N-no, Orihime… why did you…" Ichigo's voice was shaky with fear. "Orihime!" he screamed, becoming hysterical. "Don't die! Please, don't die! No! _Orihime_!" he held her tightly to him, but she just looked up at him, giving him one more weak smile before shutting her eyes and falling limply against him. Ichigo froze.

"No…no…" he whispered, shaking violently.

Orihime was dead.

"You… you _bastard_!" Ichigo screamed, looking at Stark and Yammy. He gently laid Orihime's body on the floor and pulled out his gun with shaky hands.

"Which one of you did it?" he screamed again, his gun shaking as he pointed it at the two men. "Which one of you killed Orihime?"

"What?" Ichigo heard Yachiru's voice, and his blood went cold.

"Yachiru, _no_!" he screamed, but it was too late.

"'Ms. Inoue! No, Ms. Inoue! Please don't leave me! Ms. Inoue!" Yachiru roughly pulled from Rukia's hold and ran out from under the desk.

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot in the air, and Yachiru let out a cry, falling limply to the floor. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"_YACHIRU_!" He screamed. All of the color was drained from his face as he saw the blood pooling around the little girl. He looked back at the henchmen with wild eyes, only to see Yammy holding his gun out, shaking. His eyes were wide.

"I… she was a little girl… I shot a kid…" he whispered, face pale. "I thought it was the Kuchiki girl..."

"You fucking _bastard_!" Ichigo screamed. He clicked his gun and pointed it at Yammy. "I'll _fucking_ kill you!"

"I-I didn't mean to…! I thought she was… we-we'll be back again!" Yammy yelled, grabbing Stark's arm and pulling him out of the schoolhouse. Ichigo dropped his gun and ran over to Yachiru, falling to his knees. He lifted her limp body and held it against him tightly, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth. "No… no… why?" he whispered.

Rukia numbly stepped out from under the desk. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed… two people… two of Ichigo's friends… were killed because of her.

"I-Ichigo…" her voice began to crack from tears. She fell beside him and began to sob.

* * *

"I'm so sorry…" Rukia whispered, her voice almost drowned out by the roar of the wind, but Ichigo still heard her.

"For what?" he asked, not looking at her.

They stood on a tall grassy hill, after the funeral of Orihime and Yachiru. Ichigo was standing in front of their small graves, each with a small white wooden cross on top of them.

"This is all my fault…" Rukia said quietly, walking up beside him. "… Maybe I should just go back to Karakura… I mean, two of your friends were killed because they were looking for me… I mean, I -"

"Don't worry." Ichigo interrupted. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is…" Rukia said, looking down, her hair falling over her eyes. "I don't know how you'll ever forgive me…"

"I'm not mad at you… not in the least. You didn't know this would happen. I'm just as guilty as you; I kidnapped you in the first place."

"But I went along with it!" Rukia yelled, looking up at him.

"Don't worry about it!" Ichigo repeated, louder. "It's over now. They're already gone." He took of his black cowboy hat and placed it on top of the cross on Yachiru's grave. "I'm going to avenge them… I swear on it…" he whispered, his now free hair blowing with the wind as he looked at the cross with an intense stare.

Rukia looked at him. "Strawberry…"

Ichigo didn't answer her. He simply turned around and began to walk away from the graves. "They'll regret they ever did this. That's a promise."

* * *

**Yeah, sorry… bad ending. Aaaand I killed off two characters right after they were introduced… I'm sorry. XD I don't like this chapter, for some reason… dunno… Then again, I say that about practically every thing I write.**

**Thank you for reading! Please review! **


	5. Place For My Head

**Alright, sorry for the late update… nothing to say… **  
**Heh, usually I have a ton of things to say, but I haven't for the last few chapters… weird. Anyway.  
**  
_**Disclaimer:**__I don't own Bleach. T.T  
__**Warnings:**_ _I don't think there's anything, but, like every chapter, it's poorly written. XD_

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_**Chapter 5 - Place For My Head**_ (Linkin Park)

Rukia looked down at the couch she was seated in, plucking nervously at a loose thread. "Strawberry, can I ask you something?"

Ichigo looked away from the window he was leaning against and glanced across the room at Rukia curiously. "What is it?"

"Um..." Rukia said quietly. "Do... do you hate me?"

Ichigo furrowed his brows. "…Hate you? Why would I?" Rukia let out a sigh, swallowing a lump in her throat and forcing herself not to cry.

"B-because of yesterday…" she whispered. "With Orihime and Yachiru…"

"I told you to forget about that!" Ichigo snapped. "It wasn't your fault, okay? Stop saying it is. Don't blame yourself… I've gone through something like this before… I blamed myself for someone's death, and I was miserable until Renji knocked some sense into me. So don't blame yourself, or you'll live in regret like me."

"That's not possible…" Rukia whispered, clasping her hands together tightly.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked curiously,

"Because … I already _do_ blame myself for someone's death." Rukia said quietly.

"… Really?"

"Yeah, someone close to me was... killed. I still blame myself for his death… I even have nightmares." Rukia laughed bitterly. "It's like you… can't help but feel like they were killed _because_ of you, and -"

"And if it weren't for your tendency to fuck things up, they'd still be alive." Ichigo said, with a sad, knowing smile. Rukia looked up at him.

"How did you…?"

"Because that's exactly how I felt… but you have to move on, you know? I mean, what happened can't be changed… that's that. You just have to live with it… dwelling on the past will get you nowhere, right?" Ichigo looked at her, smiling sadly.

"Yeah, you're right…" Rukia said quietly. "Thanks."

"Anytime…" Ichigo smiled. "Anyway, I -"

"Yooo, Ichigo!" Renji suddenly burst open the front door and walked in, holding a large brown sack, a grin plastered on his face.

"Renji, you did it?" Ichigo pushed himself off of the window ledge, grabbing the sack and looking inside. "Shit, Abarai, you're good!" his eyes widened as he burst out laughing.

"There's some extra in there, too. The guy was so scared he put more than what I asked for." Renji grinned. Ichigo pulled out wads of money and Rukia gasped.

"You _stole_ money?" she stood up angrily. "For what?"

"Alcantara needs a new schoolhouse, and a few houses, since the incident…" Ichigo told her. "Nobody can afford it, so Renji decided to go get some cash… c'mon, Rotwood. Would you rather see people spending money on worthless shit like alcohol and drugs, or would you rather have us give it to people who need it more?"

"Well, to the people who need it more… but, still… isn't there better ways than stealing? I mean, it's nice of you guys and all, but…" before Rukia could finish, Ichigo rolled his eyes and threw her a large wad of money. She quickly grabbed it before it could fall, and then looked up at him oddly.

"There, you can go spend it however you want, just shut up." Ichigo said jokingly and Rukia huffed.

"Jackass." She muttered, walking away.

"Oh, so I can't steal to give money to people who need it, but if I give you money you shut up?" Ichigo called after her, laughing.

"Oh, shut up!" 

* * *

"Okay… so that's hundred, two thousand… five hundred... eight hundred… three thousand… We have more than enough!" Renji grinned. Rukia looked up curiously.

"How much is it?" she asked. They were in the living room once again, about an hour after Renji had come in, and they were counting the money he had stolen.

"It's about… three thousand all together. They'll also be able to buy a new stable for the horses if they wanted." Renji grinned, handing the money to Ichigo, who put the wads of cash back into the sack.

"Three thousand?" Rukia gasped. "You stole _that_ much!"

"... Yeah?" Renji blinked.

"Rotwood, c'mon." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Your brother is worse than us with this shit, okay? So don't think we're so bad."

"But _he's_ not a criminal." Rukia pointed out. "Byakuya doesn't steal his money."

"Yeah, if only you knew." Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"What?" Rukia asked, unable to hear what Ichigo had said.

"No, nothing, I just -" Before Ichigo could finish, his eyes widened and he keeled over, clutching his head tightly. Renji's eyes widened. "Renji, get her out of here!" Ichigo yelled. Renji hopped up quickly and grabbed Rukia's arm, dragging her out of the room.

"R-Renji, what's -" Rukia was cut off when Renji silenced her by covering her mouth with his hand. He rushed up stairs with her and pushed her into her room.

"Listen, Rukia…" he said, letting go of her. "Stay in here until I say so, okay? Do _not_ go back downstairs."

"But Renji, why…? What just happened?" Rukia looked up at him desperately, searching for answers.

"I can't say much. Just… there's a lot you don't know about Ichigo, okay? So just… be on your guard at all times… got it?"

"Okay…" Rukia said, still confused.

"I'm going to go down to check on Ichigo, you stay _in here_. Okay?" Renji gave her a serious look and Rukia nodded, though she wasn't planning on listening. Once Renji left the room and she heard footsteps slowly growing quiet, she walked out of her room, only to find Renji waiting beside the door with his arms crossed. Rukia jumped backwards and let out a shriek of surprise.

"R-Renji!"

"I told you to _stay_, Rukia!" he said angrily, entering the room and slamming the door shut behind him. "This is no joke! I knew you'd sneak… good thing I made sure to _check_."

"But…"

"I'm staying in here with you." Renji sighed. "I swear, you're nuts…" he forced Rukia to sit down on her bed, and sat beside her, waiting. Rukia frowned in confusion, looking down at the floor as she wondered what was going on.

After a few more minutes, though it seemed like hours to Rukia, the door slowly opened and Ichigo walked in.

"Sorry, Rotwood…" he said in a hoarse, quiet voice as he smiled weakly. Rukia looked at him, worried. He looked tired, as if he was about to pass out.

Renji quickly stood up, and Rukia watched as Ichigo attempted to keep consciousness, wobbling back and forth. Suddenly, his eyelids began to flutter and he lost balance, falling backwards. Before Ichigo could hit the floor, Renji rushed towards him and caught the orange-haired man's limp body. He frowned deeply and placed an unconscious Ichigo on Rukia's bed.

"Sorry, Rukia… just let him stay there for a bit…" Renji sighed and Rukia nodded, getting off of the bed and looking down at Ichigo worriedly.

"Renji… _please,_ what's going on?" Rukia asked. Renji smiled sadly.

"Sorry, Rukia… it's not for me to say." He sighed, giving her a light pat on the back before leaving the room. Rukia looked at Ichigo's sleeping body once more, then sighed sadly, leaving the room, still confused about what had just happened.

* * *

…**Yeah, nothing too interesting… the whole thing with Ichigo will be explained later and I really like that part, so just wait for it. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Let Down

**Alright, well I said I'd probably upload another chapter today if I got a lot of reviews. I didn't get many, but I figured I'd post it anyway for those of you who are waiting for it :)**

_**Disclaimer: **__If I said I didn't own Bleach in past disclaimers, what makes you think I own it now?_  
_**Warnings: **__Nothing really… this could __possibly_ _count as fluff? I dunno._

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_**Chapter 6 – Let Down**_ (Bif Naked)

Rukia sighed, falling onto her back onto the shingles of the roof. She frowned as she thought about what had happened yesterday with Ichigo… she still didn't understand.

She was currently sitting on the roof of Ichigo's house, trying to think. The room Ichigo had given her had a window that led out onto the roof. On the first day in Ichigo's house, Rukia had curiously stepped outside onto the roof, seeing that it was actually safe and easy to walk around on. She had then made it a habit to come out there. It was a nice place to sit and think things over.

"How long has it been…?" she murmured to herself, "Since mom and dad died?"

Somehow, her thoughts had drifted to her parents. She smiled lightly as she remembered what she could of them. They had died when she was about five, so she didn't remember too much. She had lived a pretty good life, until they died…

They had said they were going over to the next town for a few hours. They said they'd be back that night, but two days later, they still weren't back. Rukia and Byakuya were alone, and when their parents didn't come home, they were unsure of what they should do… wait, or notify someone? Not too many nights later, a sheriff arrived at their home and told Rukia and Byakuya that their parents had been murdered. They had traveled at the worst time. There was a massacre going on in that town, and they had gotten caught in the middle of it. So, since they had no one else, Byakuya was left responsible of himself and of Rukia.

Byakuya had raised Rukia well, but Rukia knew he was disappointed with her. He had expected her to get married at a young age and raise a family… he had even tried to find a husband for her a couple months ago.

Rukia knew, deep down, Byakuya was trying to make things better for her. But she didn't want to be rushed. She was currently only fifteen, and Byakuya was already insisting she start a family. She didn't understand why; he was nearly thirty and yet he spent _his_ time fooling around with women and spending his money left and right.

Rukia knew she was letting Byakuya down. She knew from his actions towards her; the way he talked to her, looked at her, that he was not proud of her. Not to mention the girls at the bars never stopped talking about how weird Rukia was.

It was exactly like someone had said that day back in the saloon; She liked fighting, she hated girl clothes, she'd rather shoot a gun than get laid, and she didn't act like a proper lady. They were right; she would be better off as a man.

She wanted to prove them wrong. She wanted people to know that not all girls acted like prostitutes and some of them at least had some pride and dignity. Men immediately thought Rukia was like the others, and they always made a move on her. It disgusted her. This was the first time in her whole life she wasn't around drunken perverts, and she liked it much better. She'd rather live around Ichigo and drug addicts who kept to themselves than in Karakura. She never wanted to live there again.

But she had come to a decision; if one more incident happened here because of her, she was leaving. Though she never wanted to go back to Karakura, she could never be selfish enough to worry about herself over the danger she was putting others in.

She had to be careful…she knew Byakuya. He'd go as far as it took to get something back, so she was worried. What if he hurt Ichigo, Renji, or Rangiku? He could burn down all of Blue Note if he wanted to!

"There you are, Rotwood." A familiar voice made Rukia jump. She whirled around to see Ichigo climbing through the window and stepping onto the roof. He sat down beside her and turned his head to face her, grinning. Rukia blinked.

"Strawberry, what're you doing here?"

"Dunno," Ichigo replied, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. "It's nice today," he commented.

"It is…" Rukia agreed quietly. She hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ichigo. "Hey, listen… can I ask you something?"

"What?" Ichigo asked, tearing his eyes away from the sky and looking at Rukia curiously. As Rukia was about to continue, she found herself captivated by Ichigo.

He was so unique; his natural, spiky, bright orange hair and his bright amber eyes…she'd never seen anyone like him. Unlike most men, he didn't smoke, so he had straight, perfect white teeth and didn't have bad breath. He was well-built, and very tall. Save for people like Rukia's brother and Renji, not many people were in as good shape as him. There was also something about his face… it was perfect. Everything from his flawless skin to the piercings in his left ear… every bit of him was perfect. His face was mature, but it also had a bit of a childish look to it. He was incredibly handsome either way. His –

"Rotwood?" Ichigo blinked. "You alive?" he waved a hand in front of her face. Rukia's eyes widened and she shook her head, breaking out of her thoughts.

"S-sorry!" she laughed, turning pink. "Err, anyway… what was I saying?"

"You wanted to ask me something…" Ichigo said, a smirk slowly forming on his face. Rukia blinked.

"Oh yeah," she sighed. She leaned her back against the wall of the house. "It's kind of rude, selfish and stupid of me to ask, but… please… don't let Byakuya take me back."

"Hm?" Ichigo blinked. Rukia took in a deep breath.

"I don't want to go back to Karakura… to stay with Byakuya. I hate living there… I hate living with _him_. So please don't let him take me back…but if something bad happens, that's different… I'll run away, I'll go live somewhere on my own… and if he threatens to do anything to anyone here, tell him where I went." She said quietly.

"…Why? You'd go through all of that? Do you hate him that much?"

"Yeah, I do…" Rukia whispered.

"Why's that?"

"…It's kind of personal… I've never told anyone…" Rukia looked down.

"…Oh," Ichigo said. Rukia looked up at him.

"But you deserve to know…" she said and Ichigo looked at her curiously.

"O-okay, well…" Rukia took in a deep sigh then turned to face Ichigo. "When I was little… about five or six, my parents died. Byakuya was really nice before their deaths, but afterwards… it was like he was a different person. He had really high expectations of me, and I couldn't reach those expectations. … He sort of has an anger problem, so he hits me… a lot." Ichigo's eyes widened and Rukia bit her lip. She looked at Ichigo, and slowly began to lift her shirt.

Ichigo looked at her oddly, but then he gasped. On her stomach there was a large dark purple bruise, and on her side there were four slashes from what looked like a knife. "He's really violet… He beat me almost every day, especially when he was drunk…and whenever he had his guy friends over, he let them do whatever they wanted with me… they molested me…and they called me names like slut and whore…one even ripped my clothes off once." Rukia shut her eyes, burying her face in her knees that were pulled up to her chest. "So please…" her voice began to grow thick from tears. "Please…don't let him take me back…I can't handle it anymore…"

Ichigo was speechless. He didn't know what to say. "Those bruises…" he whispered. "Byakuya…he's brutal… I can't… I can't believe this…"

"I hate him." Rukia whispered, never lifting her head.

"Let me see your bruises…" Ichigo said quietly, looking at Rukia. Rukia took in a deep breath and sat straight, beginning to unbutton her shirt a bit, slipping one side off of her shoulder, down to her elbow. Ichigo gasped.

"These ones are the most recent…" Rukia said quietly. There was a deep purple bruise on her shoulder, and right under it there was another bruise in the shape of a hand, as though someone had grabbed her roughly. There was also a few more knife slashes.

"Oh my God…" Ichigo whispered hoarsely, unconsciously letting his hand reach out and touch her arm. It wasn't until he felt his fingers touch her soft skin that he realized what he was doing. He blinked, but let his hand slide slowly down her arm, over her cuts and bruises. "I'm so sorry about this…I won't let Byakuya get you back, I promise…I swear on it." He whispered.  
Rukia fixed her shirt, buttoning it back up and smiling at Ichigo. Without warning, she broke out into sobs and hugged Ichigo tightly. Ichigo's eyes widened, but then he smiled sadly, rubbing her back as she sat in his lap, her face buried in his shirt as she sobbed, thanking him over and over again.

"Thank you so much…" she whispered. "Thank you…"

* * *

**Allllright. That's it. XD Well, this'll be the last update until um…Friday, I think? Yeah, I would try and upload another chapter today (because it's so fun to), but my friends and I are going to see Transformers tonight... Is it good at all?**

**Alright, see you Friday! Please review! I love you guys!**


	7. Riot

**Okay, I hope this gets uploaded…  
I've been having problems with FFNet for the past week (probably longer), and it hasn't been letting me update at all – that's why this is late…**_**very**_ **late.  
But yeah, thank you all so much for the reviews! I've already gotten 31, for only 6 chapters! It makes me really happy. Hahaha, my goal is to get at least a hundred reviews for this story! (I've never had that many…LOL)  
Anyway, to answer andraq, Rukia was not raped. It probably seemed like it, but she wasn't, so don't worry :p  
**  
_**Disclaimer: **__Don't own Bleach.  
__**Warnings: **__Hmm, nothing… swearing and my bad grammar :D_

* * *

_**Chapter 7 – Riot **_(Three Days Grace)

"So wait… _why_ are we going there again?" Rukia frowned as she rode her horse alongside Ichigo, Renji and Rangiku. They had told her early that morning that they had to go back to Alcantara for something, though they wouldn't tell her what.

"I told you," Ichigo said, "It's nothing you need to worry about. We'll only be there for a bit, if things go according to plan."

"So Yamamoto is going to be on that train?" Rangiku asked, turning to look back at Ichigo, who nodded.

"Yeah, and he's bringing the money," he smirked and Renji began to laugh.

"Are you guys robbing someone on a train?" Rukia gasped and Ichigo sighed, annoyed.

"Are you always going to be so shocked when something like this comes up? This is our job, Rotwood. We're _criminals_." He looked at her tiredly.

"Well, I'm sorry I wasn't raised around _criminals_!" Rukia glared at him. Renji scoffed. "It's not like it's completely normal for me to see often!"

"That's funny, seeing how it happens with your brother a lot," Ichigo said under his breath. "Anyway, you won't just be seeing it this time; you'll be helping." He grinned and Rukia's eyes widened.

"You want me to _rob_ someone?"

"Well, no… just distract," Ichigo shrugged. "Just keep Yamamoto busy while we go into the back and steal the money."

"Distract him, meaning…?" Rukia asked uneasily. Renji laughed.

"Relax, nothing like that. Just like…pretend to be hurt or something. Start crying or pretend to be hurt… he's a cruel man, but he's got a weak spot for little girls in pain."

"I am not a little girl!" Rukia growled.

"You know what I mean. Think you can do it?" Renji asked and Rukia sighed, nodding.

"I have no experience with this, though. Why can't Rangiku do it?" she asked.

"Rangiku will be busy distracting the people guarding the money." Renji smiled and Rangiku grinned brightly.

"They always fall for my tricks." She winked.

"Alright, we're here." Ichigo said as they entered the town. Rukia frowned.

"Wait, this isn't the same place as last time…" she said.

"This is the other side, where the train station is." Renji said as they got off their horses. They tied them all up, except for Ichigo, who let his horse gallop off.

"What about your horse?" Rukia turned to Ichigo, who shrugged.

"She'll come back."

"Let's get going." Renji said. They all nodded and followed him through the town and Ichigo proceeded to tell Rukia about what she needed to do. Rukia felt _very_ nervous - they were asking her to distract a _very_ rich and powerful man while they _robbed_ him!

"Ichiiigooo, is that yooouuu?" a singsong voice called out. Ichigo's head jolted up, his eyes widening.

"Fuck…" he muttered, then forced a smile as a man walked up to them. Rukia blinked. He was tall, with messy blonde hair and brown eyes hidden under an unusual looking bucket hat with green and white stripes. He had on an odd green colored uniform under a large green coat that had white diamond patterns at the bottom.

"Urahara, what are you doing here?" Renji said through a gritted, forced smile.

"Oh, just stopping by to deliver some products. And yourselves?" the man named Urahara grinned happily.

"Business." Ichigo muttered plainly and Urahara nodded.

"So, Ichigo!" he smiled. "I've created a new gun, I think you'd like it very -"

"Hell no!" Ichigo gasped. "I'm _never_ buying one of your guns again! The last one nearly burnt my house down! It was more of a flame torch than a gun!"

"Oh, that's just because you used it wrong. You were never good with guns."

"I'm better than you." Ichigo glared. Urahara laughed loudly.

"Of course, Ichigo, of course. You go ahead and continue to tell yourself that." The blond man smiled widely. "It's true what they say, I suppose."

"What's true?" Ichigo frowned. Rukia blinked.

"That the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You're not a very good gunman. Even your father was lacking in the skills department."

"Say that _again_?" Ichigo hissed. Renji suddenly stepped forward, right next to Ichigo, the both of them glaring viciously at Urahara. Urahara smiled.

"Your father was a _horrible_ –"

"Shut up!" Ichigo roared, lunging forward, making to punch Urahara until Renji quickly grabbed his arms and held him back. "Don't you ever mention my dad!" Ichigo growled, trying to break out of Renji's grasp.

"Ichigo, calm down!" Renji yelled, forcing Ichigo to stop. He let go of him and looked at grabbed Ichigo's shoulders, looking down at him with a stern face. Ichigo sighed and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Urahara, who grinned widely.

"Hmm, touchy are we? You never change, Ichi -" before Urahara could finish, Renji moved forward and his fist roughly collided with Urahara's jaw, sending the man stumbling backwards into a pile of buckets, clutching his jaw.

"Fucking bastard!" Renji growled. "Get lost before I fuckin' kill you!" Renji pulled out his gun and Urahara let out a terrified yell, scrambling to his feet, knocking and tripping over buckets as he ran off.

Rangiku let out a long sigh and shook her head, putting a hand on Rukia's back and leading her away as Ichigo and Renji talked.

"Rangiku…who was that?" Rukia blinked.

"Urahara Kisuke… a sleazy merchant. Never trust men like him. They scam you and they're bastards too." Rangiku sighed. At that moment, an angry Ichigo and Renji walked up to them, and they continued to walk as if nothing had happened, though there was tension in the air.

"Rangiku…I'm afraid." Rukia whispered as she hid behind her newspaper. The four of them were currently sitting on the train, 'reading' newspapers, waiting for Yamamoto and his gang to board.

"Why, honey?" Rangiku glanced beside her at Rukia from behind her newspaper.

"What if I mess up? I mean, I'm really clumsy sometimes, and a bad actress, and he'll _never_ be fooled by me. I've heard of Yamamoto from my brother, and he sounds really scary."

"He is scary," Rangiku laughed lightly, "but don't worry. You can pull it off; just do your best." She winked at Rukia, then Renji nudged her leg and Rangiku looked up towards the door and smirked. Rukia peeked over her newspaper to see an old man walk on, along with many other people dressed in unusual looking black robes.

"Is that him?" Rukia whispered, watching as the man was escorted to a seat by the people in black robes. Four of the men sat on either side of him, looking around cautiously and occasionally gripping the guns inside their robes.

"Yeah, don't stare. Okay, listen. We can't all go in at the same time for no reason, so watch," Rangiku whispered. Suddenly, she folded her newspaper and stood up.

"Raymond, honey, let's head into the bathroom…" she said loud enough for Yamamoto to hear, winking and smiling flirtatiously at her boyfriend. Renji smirked and nodded, putting his newspaper down and standing up, running a hand through his long black wig and following Rangiku into a different room.

Rukia blinked, then caught on quickly. She too in a deep breath and placed her newspaper down onto the bench beside her, standing up and going in front of Ichigo. She teasingly plucked the newspaper out of his hands and he looked up at her curiously. She bent down to be face-to-face with him and smiled sweetly, resting a hand on the side of his face, playing with loose strands of fake blond curls.

"C'mon sweetie," she said, "I'm feeling a bit… frisky. Let's go into the back…" she trailed off and Ichigo looked at her in horror, but she sent him a quick glare and he caught on, nodding. He stood up and Rukia linked arms with him, leading him into the same room Rangiku and Renji had gone into.

Yamamoto watched them in amusement and smiled, shaking his head. "Couples these days…" he murmured, staring out of the window as the train began to move.

* * *

"That was gross." Rukia grimaced as they quickly unlinked their arms once they were in the back. Ichigo laughed as they made their way through piles of luggage.

"You're pretty good at this," he commented and Rukia smiled lightly, shrugging.

"I dunno, Rangiku did it so I figured I had to…_eek_!" All of a sudden, Rangiku and Renji hopped out from behind a crate, making Rukia jump back and shriek.

"Relax!" Renji laughed.

"Nice acting, Rukia! It looked so real! If only it was…" Rangiku sighed. "You two would be adorable together!"

"Whatever Rangiku. Now go," Ichigo rolled his eyes and Rangiku huffed and nodded. She unbuttoned another two buttons of her already open-enough dress and gave them one last, bright smile before walking ahead into the next room to where two men were guarding a safe. Ichigo and Renji quickly pushed Rukia behind a few crates with them as they watched Rangiku.

"Excuse me, boys…" Rangiku strutted over to the men, swaying her hips and fluttering her eyelashes. "I seem to have lost my luggage in the front part of the train…will you help me find it? I need to big, strong men like you to help me…" she pouted lightly and the men's cheeks went bright red. Renji quietly snickered.

"W-well, we're supposed to stay here, ma'am…" one guard stuttered and Rangiku pouted sadly, urging her chest forward.

"Please? You can come back as soon as we find my bags… oh, _pleeease_?" she said sadly and they sighed, smiling.

"Sure, why not, c'mon…" they said, pushing themselves off of the walls they were leaning against and walking out of the back room. Rangiku quickly looked back to wink at her friends before leaving.

"She's good!" Rukia gasped and Renji nodded.

"Anyway, your turn Rukia. Just go start crying or something in front of Yamamoto…"

"Umm," Rukia said nervously. "Alright, I think I have an idea…" she said, slowly getting up and walking back to where Yamamoto was waiting. Ichigo blinked.

"Good luck!" Renji called after her. "What do you think she's gonna do?" he turned to Ichigo.

"Dunno, but let's hope it works." Ichigo sighed, standing up and loading his gun.

* * *

"Oh, help, someone please!" Rukia cried, rushing in front of Yamamoto. Yamamoto looked up curiously to see her fall onto the seat beside him and hide, sobbing.

"What's wrong, miss?" he asked. Rukia looked up with her tear-stained face, sniffing.

"W-well, my boyfriend… he… he hurt me." She sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. Yamamoto frowned lightly. "I was fooling around with him, t-then he got rough, and I wanted him to stop, but he wouldn't!"

"Oh, please don't cry! Where is he?" Yamamoto said, putting his hands on Rukia's shaking shoulders.

"H-he left somewhere; I don't know where… b-but right now… I just want comfort." Rukia sniffed, looking up at him with big, wet eyes. Yamamoto's face softened and he nodded.

"Of course, I'm here, you can talk to me." He said, hugging her lightly. Rukia frowned deeply into his shoulder when he hugged her. He was actually a nice man… why would they rob him? She immediately felt bad.

She suddenly had the urge to scream to him what Ichigo and Renji were doing, but before she could, Rangiku rushed in.

"Rukia, hurry!" she yelled, looking back at the girl as she ran. Rukia quickly broke away from Yamamoto, who looked at her oddly.

"T-thank you so much! Bye!" Rukia said quickly, running after Rangiku into the next cart, where she saw Renji rush out with her, holding a large black sack which she guessed was filled with Yamamoto's money.

"Thieves!" she could hear Yamamoto's angry roar in realization and she froze. Where was she supposed to go? She had no idea where Renji and Rangiku had gone.

Rukia suddenly heard footsteps and yells, obviously from Yamamoto's men and her eyes widened. She was trapped.

Just at that moment, as soon as the guards burst into the cart, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the train. Rukia shrieked when she felt the cold wind and looked beneath her to see the grass whizzing by. She clutched onto the side of the speeding train for dear life.

"Rotwood, you idiot!" a familiar voice roared over the wind. "Why didn't you follow?"

"I-I didn't know!" Rukia yelled, turning to look at an angry Ichigo, who was holding onto another black sack.

"C'mon then," Ichigo sighed, climbing the ladder on the side of the train, Rukia quickly following. Once they were on the top, Rukia began to shake, afraid that if she made one wrong move she would fall off and be killed. She looked down below her and gulped. Suddenly, she heard gunshots and a bullet whizzed past her face, barely missing her cheek.

"Rotwood!" Ichigo yelled as Rukia's eyes widened as she felt blood drip down her cheek. She was nearly shot… only a few more inches, and the bullet would have hit her.

She was frozen stiff, so Ichigo growled and avoided the oncoming gunshots, grabbing Rukia's arm and dragging her away.

"Where the hell did those two go?" Ichigo growled, looking to the left and right, his hair flying around wildly. Suddenly, he looked in front of them and his breath hitched and his eyes widened. Rukia blinked when she saw Ichigo freeze and looked in front curiously, then let out a scream. They were coming to a tunnel.

"We're going to be killed…" she whispered. Ichigo quickly shook his head.

"No, c'mon," he said, turning around and running, then freezing when he saw five of Yamamoto's men there, guns pointed out at them.

"Stop right there and hand the bag over." One commanded, clicking his gun. Ichigo silently swore, then smirked. He let go of Rukia and brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling loudly. The men frowned and Rukia blinked. Before anyone could say anything, Ichigo wrapped an arm securely around Rukia's waist and ran towards the end of the train, jumping off.

The men let out surprised yells and began to shoot, and Rukia let out a loud screech as they flew downwards. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact, which didn't come. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in Ichigo's lap, and they were on his horse, riding in the opposite direction of the train.

"What the…" she whispered. "You _idiot_!" she yelled, slapping Ichigo, who was taken aback.

"What the hell was that for?" he growled. "I saved your life!"

"You scared me shitless! Why the hell would you jump off of a moving train? That's suicide!"

"Nah, Serenity is always there beside the train, waiting for me. I always do this."

"And you always make it on her safely?" Rukia raised an eyebrow. Ichigo nodded.

"Yup. Well, except for that one time… she saw a male horse and ran off… I jumped without noticing she wasn't there…that hurt like a bitch." He blinked and Rukia growled, making to slap him again, but he grabbed her arm.

"Oh, calm down. You're safe, aren't you?" he said. He looked up and smirked. "There they are." Rukia looked ahead to see Rangiku and Renji on their horses, waiting for them. Rukia's horse was also beside them, waiting.

"Took you long enough!" Rangiku laughed.

"Rukia looks like she's seen a ghost! Did you jump off the top of the train again?" Renji asked and Rukia glared up at Ichigo.

She shakily hopped off of his horse once he stopped and rushed over to her own, hugging it tightly around the neck, saying she was 'glad to be away from that maniac strawberry'.

"Oh, whatever." Ichigo glared at her. Rukia stuck her tongue out at him and hopped onto her horse and they began to head back home.

"So…how did you distract Yamamoto, Rukia?" Renji asked, turning to the younger girl. Rukia grinned.

"I said Strawberry was harassing me." She said and Ichigo nearly fell off of his horse. Renji and Rangiku burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's perfect!" Rangiku giggled.

"Harassing you? How?" Ichigo growled. Rukia smiled innocently. "What exactly did you say, Rotwood?"

"Oh, just that we were fooling around and you wanted to go too far." Rukia shrugged and Ichigo's face turned bright red.

"What the hell? That's retarded! Why would you -"

"Oh, shut up Ichigo! You probably _would_ do something like that to her!" Rangiku giggled and Ichigo gaped.

"I would not! I'm not a fuckin' -"

"You two would be cute together, though. But Rukia would have to watch out for you, pervert." Renji teased.

"You guys, you're supposed to be on _my_ side, not hers!" Ichigo growled.

"Strawberry and Rukia, sitting in a tree!" Rangiku sang.

Renji grinned. "K-I-S-S-I-"

"_You_ _guys_!"

* * *

**Haha. This chapter was actually pretty long… I wish the rest were like this.  
Anyway, I hope this came out okay…** **I don't really have much to say, except yes, I know, this was **_**very**_ **poorly written (isn't **_**every**_** chapter? XD)**

**So yeah… please review? I also accept flames, haha, they make me laugh. XD I don't find them offensive at all. I like getting hate mail, as odd as it sounds. XD Every opinion matters!**

**Please review! (or flame, whatever!) Let's go for a hundred reviews! W00t!**


	8. Rush

**Argh, late update once again. Sorry guys.  
I'll make this short… this chapter was rushed, because I've been so busy and have had no time to proofread. I'm supposed to be somewhere right now, but I felt bad for taking a long time to update, so I decided to post the next chapter. Once again, sorry for the wait!**

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Bleach. Yeah, nothing creative to say. Blah_  
_**Warnings: **__Rushed, poorly written chapter. Maybe some spelling errors.  
The usual swearing, and some violence. You guys won't hate me until the next chapter. … and the chapter after that, and after that, and after that… let's just say, you'll all hate me for the next few chapters. Probably even this one too, since it's badly written. Haha. _

_

* * *

_

_**Chapter 8 - Rush**_ (UVERworld)

"Well, this sucks." Renji sighed, leaning his head back against the cold brick wall. Ichigo glared at him from his spot on the other side of the room, where he was trying to pull open the cell door.

"It's all your fault, Ichigo. You and your stupid bright hair. They always find us right away." Rangiku groaned.

On the way back to Blue Note, Yamamoto's men had caught up with them and had knocked them out; taking them to the town Yamamoto was in charge of. They were currently stuck in the town's jail in a cell.

"So how are we gonna get out this time? Yamamoto's men are probably smarter than others." Renji muttered.

"How many times has this happened to you guys?" Rukia asked tiredly, slumping against the wall.

"I lost count after fifty." Ichigo grinned cheekily at her and Rukia glared at him.

"Whatever," she sighed, standing up and walking up to the door, clutching the metal bars. Ichigo looked at her oddly as she cleared her throat loudly.

"Mister Sheriff!" Rukia called out in a light, innocent voce. The sheriff tiredly looked over from his desk.

"What?" he asked.

"Umm… well…" Rukia stuttered, sticking out her bottom lip. "I really need to go to the bathroom, and I can't go in here."

"Well, too bad. You'll be dead soon so it's okay." The sheriff turned back to his work and Rukia huffed.

"But Mister Sheriff, I _really_ need to go! When I die, would you be fine knowing that you let a poor girl like me die without being allowed to pee? I could be in heaven, telling them about how cruel you were!" Rukia said and the sheriff sighed, standing up and grabbing the keys. He walked over to their cell and unlocked the door, only letting Rukia walk out while the rest gaped at her.

"Whatever, let's go then." The sheriff sighed and locked the door, leading Rukia towards the door, while she quickly glanced back and winked at her friends.

"Oh, Mister Sheriff…" Rukia began and the man looked down at her curiously. "You have something on your nose, right there." The sheriff blinked and raised a hand to his nose, rubbing the spot where Rukia pointed. Rukia smirked and quickly kicked him in between the legs with all of her might.

The sheriff's eyes widened and he let out a choked gasp, clutching his privates and toppling over. Rukia grinned and kicked him in the stomach. The sheriff bent his body in pain, and Rukia quickly snatched the keys from his hand. She rushed over to the jail cell where Ichigo, Rangiku and Renji were and unlocked the cell, grinning as the three rushed out.

"Rukia, you're incredible!" Renji grinned, lifting her up into the air.

"Che, whatever." Ichigo scoffed. "That just goes to show you that she's not as sweet as she looks." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Rukia.

"Someone's just mad because it was Rukia who got us out, and not him!" Rangiku teased.

"I am not mad!" Ichigo said angrily.

"Yeah, sure Ichigo." Renji smirked as they walked out of the jail, ignoring the sheriff who was still wheezing in pain.

"So how are we going to get home?" Rangiku asked, looking around the town. There were many large shops, and big houses. Obviously a rich town. "We don't have our horses."

"First of all, this town is filthy rich, so we should -" Ichigo was cut off when Rukia roughly stomped on his foot. "_Shit_, Rotwood! What was that for!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"You are _not _stealing anything!" Rukia said angrily. "You already robbed a train, and now you want to rob a town right after we escaped from jail?"

"…So?" Ichigo blinked. "I've done it countless times."

"I…" Rukia didn't finish. She looked down and sighed deeply, shaking her head. "I don't even know how I've lasted this long around you."

"Shut up," Ichigo glared. "Fine. We'll listen to _Saint_ Rotwood and just go home. We've got enough money from the train, so -"

"Shit!" Renji gasped. "The money! Yamamoto took it!"

"No!" Rangiku groaned, slapping her forehead.

"Alright, then we'll just have to go get it back." Ichigo grinned. "I've snuck through Yamamoto's house before, so it's all good." He said, beginning to walk.

"Is there _anything_ that's against the law that you _haven't_ done?" Rukia sighed, trying to catch up with Ichigo. Ichigo glanced back at her.

"Yeah, I've never murdered anyone." He smiled teasingly.

"You're an idiot, Strawberry." Rukia rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed at how easily he could joke about something so serious.

* * *

"_This_ is his house!" Rangiku gasped, staring up at the mansion. "I knew he was rich… but _this_?" she exclaimed. Rukia was also staring up in shock, speechless.

Yamamoto's house was at least twenty times the height of Ichigo's and ten times the width. It was even bigger than Byakuya's, Rukia noticed, and it was much more elegant.

"It's nothing compared to his old house." Ichigo shrugged.

"Why did he move?" Rukia gaped. "If it was bigger than _this_, I don't understand why anyone would move!"

"I burnt it down." Ichigo shrugged casually and Rukia's eyes widened.

"You…!" she trailed off, gaping. She quickly shook her head. "Okay, I'm not even going to bother being surprised anymore… I swear, one of these days Strawberry, you're going to be caught."

"I've been caught more times than I can count. I'm just good at escaping." Ichigo gave her another one of his cheeky grins and Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's go." Renji sighed, rolling up his sleeves and starting to climb the large tree in front of Yamamoto's house. Ichigo followed, then Rangiku, then a hesitant Rukia. The tree was fairly close to Yamamoto's house, so Renji simply hopped from a tree branch to an open window, entering the house. Ichigo followed, and so did Rangiku, but Rukia, being afraid of heights, had a bit of trouble.

Once they were all safely in the room, they looked around and realized they were probably in someone's bedroom. Luckily, no one was inside.

"Alright… so where do we go now?" Rangiku asked. Ichigo shrugged and walked over to the door, opening it slowly and poking his head out. "The hall's empty. C'mon," he fully opened the door and cautiously walked out, the others following him. They glanced around the halls, afraid that Yamamoto or his men would pop out any second.

"Alright, let's split up and find the money. We'll meet outside when we get it. Just whistle." Renji said and Ichigo nodded. Renji quickly walked off in one direction with Rangiku, leaving Ichigo and Rukia together. Ichigo let out a sigh mixed with annoyance and anger, and headed down the other direction. Rukia quickly followed.

"If I remember right… Yamamoto's room should be this one." Ichigo said, stopping in front of a door.

"You've been here before?" Rukia asked. Ichigo nodded.

"I've been here a lot. Stuck in the cells downstairs."

"He's got cells in the house, too?" Rukia blinked.

"Yep, and torture chambers…" Ichigo shivered, "I told you, he's a cruel man."

"He tortured you?" Rukia gasped. Ichigo nodded.

"A couple years ago. Renji and him had a bit of a problem, but Renji had gone into hiding so he held me hostage to get Renji's whereabouts outta me, but I wouldn't tell him. Anyway, c'mon." he turned the doorknob slowly, but then Rukia's hand quickly shot up and she held his hand tightly. Ichigo turned to look at her curiously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" she whispered, looking down.

"Rotwood?" Ichigo blinked. "It's nothing, don't worry ab -"

"No… I thought Yamamoto was a nice man… on the train, if Rangiku hadn't interrupted by rushing in, I would have told him what you guys were doing…" Rukia said quietly. She expected Ichigo to be mad, but he burst out laughing.

"Don't be sorry! Hell, if you had it would've just made things more fun! Don't worry Rotwood. Loosen up a bit, okay?" Ichigo slapped her lightly on the back and then began opening the door.

"W-wait, what if he's in there?" Rukia asked quietly.

"He's always in Karakura around this time, don't worry." Ichigo said, then opened the door before Rukia could say anything else. He quickly pushed her inside before him, then entered and shut the door. Rukia looked around.

It was a very large room, with many pieces of furniture, like a bed, desk, a small table with a chair, two large windows, and a closet.

"Over here," Ichigo said, walking towards the end of the room. Rukia followed him. Ichigo pressed up sideways against one of the walls beside the closet, pressing his ear to the wall, listening intently. Rukia looked at him oddly as he began to knock on the wall in different spots. He frowned in concentration, knocking a few more times.

"Yep, this is it, but he made a new way to get in…" Ichigo muttered. "Oh well, I'll just break it down."

"Wh-what?" Rukia said quickly. "You're not breaking it down!"

"How else am I going to get the money?" Ichigo glared.

"Find the actual doorway…?" Rukia tried weakly. "Come on, don't break it."

"Knowing Yamamoto, it's probably some weird and complicated door, and I don't want to waste my time. I'm impatient. We should just break it down." Ichigo said, looking at the wall and backing away slowly. He was about to charge at it, then,

"Wait!" Rukia gasped and Ichigo froze to see her walk into the closet.

"What, Rotwood?" he asked tiredly. "If you want some clothes, you know he's male, right?"

"No, idiot. Look!" Rukia gestured for him to come into the closet, which Ichigo slowly did. "There's the passage!" And sure enough, in the closet, behind the many suits and ties, there was a small hole that would probably only fit an elementary student.

"… I'd never fit in that." Ichigo blinked. Then he glanced beside him at Rukia and a smirk began to form.

"What?" Rukia asked slowly, noticing his look. "Why are you looking at me like tha -" she cut off, eyes widening. "Ohh, _no_. No way. Who knows what's in there?"

"C'mon, Rotwood! You're tiny, you'd fit! Please! I'll buy you new clothes, jewelry, anything you want!" Ichigo begged.

"No, Strawberry! I -"

"I'll buy you a pet or something! A new horse, or a dog, or a rabbit or something!"

"… A rabbit?" Rukia froze, looking at him curiously. Ichigo blinked.

"You like rabbits…?"

"I love them!" Rukia grinned. "Fine, if I go in there, you have to get me a rabbit! A cute, fluffy white one named Chappy!"

"I…uh…sure?" Ichigo blinked as Rukia smiled and rushed past him, getting on her knees and crawling through the small hole. She slowly and cautiously made her way through it, then stood straight once she was on the other side. She looked around. It was a very small room, only big enough for a lone, tall black safe taking up one side completely. She looked at it and blinked. She tried opening it, but it obviously didn't budge.

"Strawberry, there's a safe in here!" She called loudly. "But it's locked!"

"Try this code!" Ichigo slipped a small piece of cloth through the door. Rukia picked it up, and frowned once she looked at it. It was a dirty white piece of cloth that looked like it had been ripped from something, and it had dark, thick and messy red writing on it. Slowly, she followed the code and soon heard a click and the safe opened. She blinked a few times.

"How did you know the code?"

"It worked? Oh wow... the idiot didn't change the code." She heard Ichigo mutter. She shrugged and stood on her tip-toes, looking into the safe. Inside there were many things, like jewels and gold, but in the middle were the two sacks of money Renji and Ichigo had stolen.

"Found them! And a ton of other stuff!" she called.

"Just get the bags, we don't need the rest." Ichigo said and Rukia grabbed the sacks, quickly slamming the safe shut afterwards. She pushed the bags through the hole, seeing Ichigo pick them up, and crawled out after.

"Good job, Rotwood." Ichigo gave her a grin as she crawled out.

"Where did you get this anyway?" she asked him as she looked down at the code in her hands.

"From when I was fourteen, being tortured by Yamamoto. He was opening the safe right in front of me, so I just wrote it down in case." Ichigo shrugged. "He probably figured I'd die anyway... 'course, I didn't." He grinned.

"…What did you write this with?" Rukia asked slowly, looking down at the thick, deep red writing.

"My blood." Ichigo replied plainly and Rukia shrieked, shoving the cloth into his hands. "…What?"

"_Blood_?" Rukia exclaimed, roughly wiping her hands on her skirt. "Why?"

"I was being _tortured_. Sitting there, bleeding. So I ripped some of my shirt and used my blood. What else was I supposed to use?" Ichigo scoffed, tucking the cloth into one of his pockets. Rukia didn't reply, only continuing to wipe her hands.

Ichigo sighed, then walked over to one of the windows and opened it, sticking his head out. He took a deep breath and brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling loudly. Rukia blinked and rushed over, looking out of the window to see Rangiku and Renji rush out of the house after a few more moments. Ichigo waved his hand outside of the window to catch their attention.

"You got them?" Renji called, looking up at the window they were poking their heads out of. Ichigo tied the sacks shut tightly, then stuck them out the window, dropping them. Renji and Rangiku quickly caught them.

"Go on without us!" Ichigo yelled. "We'll meet you at my house!"

Renji nodded and waved, then he and Rangiku rushed off before Yamamoto's men could come outside.

"C'mon, Rotwood." Ichigo walked back across the room and opened the door, rushing into the hall with Rukia. He was about to turn, until they noticed one of Yamamoto's men there. Ichigo silently swore.

"Kurosaki!" the man growled.

"Yo, Shuuhei! How have you been? Haven't seen you in what, three years?" Ichigo grinned playfully. Shuuhei growled.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead!"

"Oh, is someone still a little bitter about those scars?" Ichigo teased. "I told you, I didn't mean to get your eye. But hey, at least you can still see!"

"You're dead!" Shuuhei roared, pulling a gun out of his black robe. Ichigo's eyes widened and he grabbed Rukia's arm, dragging her down the hall as Shuuhei shot at them. He quickly shoved Rukia into a room as more men began to file out of their bedrooms, quickly entering right after her and locking the door. He let go of Rukia and let out a deep sigh.

"Idiot!" Rukia hissed.

"Shut up," Ichigo sighed. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a long red stick.

"What is…" Rukia's eyes widened in realization. "A _dynamite_?" she shrieked. Ichigo grinned and pulled out a match.

"I knew I'd probably use it." He shrugged. He walked over to the window and glanced outside. "Perfect." He grinned. Rukia looked through the window to see a large tree with many thick branches. "Let's go, Rotwood."

"No way!" Rukia squeaked. "What if I fall?"

"I'll carry you, then." Ichigo sighed. Before Rukia could protest, he wrapped an arm around her waist and opened the window, climbing onto the tree carefully. He held the dynamite sideways in his mouth and began to climb down the tree, with only one free hand clutching the branches tightly.

"Strawberry, if you drop me…" Rukia warned shakily as she glanced down at the ground below. She looked up to see Ichigo smirking around the dynamite in his mouth.

"Don't worry," came his slightly muffled reply. Rukia had to admit, he did look pretty cool with that dynamite in his mouth. Then it hit her… _dynamite_.

"What are you going to do with that thing anyway?" Rukia asked a bit fearfully.

"Destroy Yamamoto's house." Ichigo said simply. After a few more moments of silence, they made it to the ground and he let go of Rukia, who balanced herself shakily. Ichigo took the dynamite out of his mouth and struck his match on the brick wall, and lit the dynamite. Rukia gasped as it began to flare, sparks flying off of it.

"Strawberry!" she shrieked.

"Take this, jackass!" Ichigo yelled, throwing the dynamite upwards with all of his strength. It flew up, and surprisingly, through the window they had climbed out of.

"Nice throw." Rukia gasped, looking up. Ichigo quickly grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the way, running as fast as he could. Rukia began to run to catch up, though she kept glancing back to see the house. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the glass windows shattered. Before she could see the rest, Ichigo had wrapped both arms around her and threw the both of them to the ground. He shielded her as the entire house exploded, bricks and glass and wood flying everywhere. Rukia watched in awe as smoke filled the air.

"Wow…" she whispered once the explosion was finished. She heard Ichigo snicker. He broke away from her and stood up, turning around to look at the house. He burst out laughing. The entire house was destroyed.

"Damn, I guess some of Urahara's stuff is good sometimes!" he grinned. "Damn, that dynamite went off like there was fifty of 'em!"

"Strawberry, you're an idiot." Rukia frowned, getting up and dusting herself off.

"Let's go," Ichigo said, walking off in the opposite direction.

"How are we gonna get back?" Rukia asked, running to catch up with him.

"Yamamoto's stable is right here, we'll just steal a horse." Ichigo said, and soon enough, a large red stable came into their view. Ichigo rushed inside and unlocked one of the horse gates, pulling the large brown horse out. "C'mon," he said, hopping onto the horse and holding out a hand for Rukia, who reluctantly took it and Ichigo helped her up onto the horse. Once she was seated behind him, she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist as he trotted out of the stable. Once they were outside, he went faster, so Rukia quickly tightened her grip.

"KUROSAKI!" they could hear Yamamoto's roars and Ichigo let out a surprised yell, urging the horse to go faster.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

"Faster, Strawberry!"

"I'm going, I'm going!"

* * *

**Yay, finally finished this chapter. XD I think this one was the longest so far.. hmm.  
Anyway, not much to say. Please review! Flames are welcome too :D  
You guys'll probably like the next chapter… well, either you'll really like it, or you'll **_**hate**_ **it. It all depends on if you like Aizen and the Espada… I mean… I said nothing! o.O –shifty eyes- **


	9. A Note

Ah... I'm horrible, aren't I?

Okay, listen guys... about the late update... x.x My grandfather passed away a while ago, and things have been VERY hectic...people are coming over a lot and I have to stay with the little kids (fun, fun) and relatives I never knew I had are coming from random places like Australia for a wedding and crap... plus, my sister's friend is getting married and I've got THAT to go to. Then we're going to Toronto for a 2 weeks or so, and I can't update then, either. PLUS, now there's school, and I REALLY need to do good this year...

It's really annoying when people don't update their stories... I know. But I can't help it. If I had TIME to update, I'd be at chapter 20 or something by now, but I really have absolutely no time. So I apologize. x.x'

Argh, It's been so long... ;-; I'm so sorry... My files are all screwed up, too. My laptop with all of my stories on it won't even turn on any more, so I have to figure out how to make it work again... I think it's something with the hard drive, so all of the files might be gone. e-e

I hope you guys aren't too mad..

Damn it, and I told myself "I WILL NEVER WRITE A STUPID AUTHOR'S NOTE CHAPTER SAYING UPDATES WILL BE SLOW." but here I am, writing one. Blah.

Please don't be too annoyed with me...

-Crazed

waaaah, i feel like crap. ;-;


	10. Get It Faster

**I'm so so so sorry about the wait guys (what the heck, a year went by so fast!). I promise I'll start updating more regularly! Love you all! Please don't hate me too much! XD**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Bleach at all. Haha if I owned it I wouldn't be a year's worth of manga chapters behind (I totally cut Bleach out of my life for some reason DX I honestly have to start catching up.)  
__**Warnings: **__Nothing really. Some swearing and violence? And of course the usual poorly written chapter._

* * *

_**Chapter 9 – Get it Faster**_ (Jimmy Eat World)

"Ichigoooo..." Rangiku whined. "I'm bored! There's never anything to do in your damn house." She huffed and slid down in her seat on Ichigo's couch. Renji nodded from his spot beside her. Ichigo rolled his eyes, stretching and then returning back into his lazy, relaxed position on his chair across from the couch. They had been sitting in his living room for quite some time, with nothing to do.

"So leave." Ichigo said plainly, picking at the wooden arm rests of his chair.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Renji commented. Ichigo glanced over at him.

"I'm not in a bad mood," he sneered. "I'm just annoyed. If you guys're always so bored here why not go out or somethin'. Leave me alone."

"Good idea!" Rangiku said happily, jumping up. "Let's go to the bar!"

"...Rangiku, it's not even night time..." Renji winced at his girlfriend's love for alcohol.

"So! It's never too early to drink!" Rangiku pulled a very reluctant Renji up by his arms, then skipped over to Ichigo and pulled him up too. "Where's Rukia?"

"Dunno, haven't seen her all day," Ichigo shrugged.

"She's probably on the roof," Renji suggested. Rangiku frowned.

"What is it with her and sitting out there all day?" She sighed. "I'll be right back!" She bounced up the stairs to Rukia's room.

Ichigo glanced at Renji wearily. The redhead smiled sheepishly. "She's a bit...crazy sometimes?"

"Let's gooo!" Rangiku sang as she bounded down the stairs moments later, holding a confused Rukia's hand.

"Where are we going?" Rukia asked. She blinked, then her eyes slowly widened. "No... please don't tell me we're going to rob another place! Oh god, I've had enough for -"

"Relax," Rangiku slapped her on the back, causing her to let out a small cry of pain. "We're just going drinking." She grinned. Rukia blinked. Rangiku gaped at her.

"You've never gone out drinking, have you?" she asked. Rukia smiled sheepishly.

"Well, no..."

"Well we better get goin', then! You're missin' out, girl!" Rangiku squeaked happily, dragging Rukia outside and urging Ichigo and Renji to follow.

* * *

"Have you ever thought about getting your drinking habits checked out, Rangiku?" Rukia asked hesitantly as they tied their horses up in front of the saloon.

"I don't have a drinking problem," Rangiku grinned as they walked into the musty, dark establishment. Rukia coughed at the smell, wincing. Renji laughed, looking down at her.

"You'll get used to it eventually. The bars out here aren't as clean as the ones in Karakura." He shrugged. Ichigo nodded.

"They've got nicer people, at least. No bastards like Byakuya." His eyes narrowed when he said Rukia's brother's name. The four headed for the stools at the bar counter. Rangiku sat on the end, Renji sitting next to her, and Ichigo sitting next to him. Rukia sighed, seeing that she was the one stuck sitting next to Ichigo and a brown haired man, since the only remaining seat was between the two of them. She shrugged and sat down, and Rangiku quickly ordered a round for them.

"Speaking of Byakuya..." Rukia hesitated before continuing, as she noticed the brown haired man next to her perk up a bit. "What's going on with him? Has he... done anything else recently?"

"Not really," Ichigo leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.

"I'm still really sorry about what happened in Alcantara, with Ori - "

"Rotwood," Ichigo interrupted. "I told you to forget about that!" He sighed, reaching for a full shot glass and sliding it to Rukia. "Drink and shut up."

Rukia huffed, about to return a nasty remark, but decided not to, seeing Ichigo's eyes lower slightly at the mention of Orihime. She sighed...she never did anything right. She quickly downed her shot, regretting it soon after the alcohol burned her throat as it went down.

"That's strong!" She gasped, eyes wide, slamming the glass back onto the counter. Rangiku giggled.

"You're so cute, Rukia! You can't handle alcohol!" Rangiku was already on her third shot. Renji grinned proudly, patting his girlfriend on the back.

Rukia was about to speak, until the man next to her began to chuckle. The four of them blinked and looked at him.

"So you _are_ Rukia Kuchiki," he smirked, turning to face her. Rukia's eyes widened in confusion and Ichigo growled.

"Aizen!" He roared, standing up roughly, his chair screeching behind him. Rukia whirled her head around to look at him. He was furious, his fists clenched tightly.

"I-Ichigo...!" Renji attempted to calm his friend down, to no avail. Ichigo stepped towards Aizen and slammed his fist on the counter, causing empty shot glasses to fall over.

"Why the fuck are you here?" Ichigo growled.

"Easy, easy," Aizen held his hands up in front of him, chuckling. "Still as hot-tempered as ever, Ichigo."

"Answer my question!" Ichigo yelled.

"Am I not allowed to visit?" Aizen asked, lowering his hands and standing up, becoming face-to-face with Ichigo.

"Who is that?" Rukia whispered, glancing back at Renji, slightly worried. Renji sighed.

"Aizen Sosuke," he said, not looking very thrilled. "He used to be one of us... but he betrayed us."

"O-oh..." Rukia said quietly, glancing back at the still arguing Ichigo and Aizen.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" The bartender asked loudly, appearing from the back room.

"Nothing," Aizen said, never taking his eyes off of Ichigo. "Though I do think you may have a pest problem."

"You asshole!" Ichigo growled, clenching his fist and slamming it into Aizen's face, causing the brown-haired man to fly backwards and collide with his bar stool. Rukia gasped and Renji stood up, quickly grabbing her arm and pulling her behind him and Rangiku.

"You little brat!" Aizen hissed, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He returned the punch, his fist colliding with Ichigo's stomach. Ichigo's eyes widened as he keeled over, clutching his stomach.

"Hey, hey, break it up!" The bartender yelled, throwing his towel onto the counter top.

Ichigo and Aizen ignored him, throwing each other onto the ground. Ichigo got on top of Aizen and began to punch his face mercilessly. Rukia began to scream.

"Renji, he'll kill him!" she yelled, trying to break out of Renji's grasp."

"Rukia, stop it!" Renji said through clenched teeth, struggling to keep the teen in his arms.

"Rukia, you're going to have to get used to this." Rangiku sighed.

"But...!" Rukia yelled, stopping and sighing, looking down and shutting her eyes tightly. "I just..."

"God damn it!" The bartender growled, rushing from behind the counter towards the two fighting men. He grabbed Ichigo from around his chest and heaved him off of a bloody Aizen. Ichigo struggled against him, but the bartender kept a firm grip. Aizen slowly stood up, looking at Ichigo with wild eyes.

"If you two want to fight, don't do it in my fucking bar! Go somewhere else!" The bartender yelled angrily. "Get the fuck out!"

Ichigo ripped himself from the bartender's grip. "Fine. Outside it is."

"Deal. But we're doing it my way." Aizen said, wiping blood from his face. "A horse race."

"If I win, you get your ugly ass out of here forever." Ichigo smirked.

"And if I win, you turn yourself in." Aizen smirked back. Rukia gasped, and Renji's grip on her tightened.

"Deal!" Ichigo grinned.

"Ichigo!" Renji yelled, but Ichigo ignored him. Renji sighed. "Idiot..." he whispered.

"Do you think he'll lose?" Rukia asked, worried.

"I doubt it," Renji sighed. "But still. He's dumb sometimes..."

"Sometimes," Rangiku scoffed.

"Hey, they're leaving!" Rukia exclaimed. "Come on!" The three rushed outside, after the two men.

"We'll meet back here in one hour." Aizen said. Ichigo grinned, nodding.

"Get ready to lose," the redhead smirked. Aizen growled.

"Why you -"

"Aaaalright, let's go!" Rukia said quickly, grabbing Ichigo's arm and dragging him towards where their horses were tied.

"Are you crazy or what?" Rangiku hissed. "What if you lose, Ichigo?"

"I won't lose, relax." Ichigo laughed. "Anyway, let's go. I'm gonna let Serenity rest up before the race."

* * *

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Rukia asked quietly as she, Ichigo, Renji and Rangiku walked back to the bar. Ichigo nodded, tugging on Serenity's rope lightly so she would continue to follow them.

"I won't lose, Rotwood. Don't worry." He grinned. "Sounds like you're worried about me."

Rukia gaped. "I-I'm not worried! I could care less, you stupid Strawberry!" she huffed, crossing her arms and looking away. Ichigo grinned and walked past her, rubbing her head.

"See ya after the race." He grinned and Rukia stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on, Rukia, let's go try and find a spot to watch from." Rangiku urged forward with her chin.

"Damn, looks like the whole town heard about this race," Renji commented as they came up to where the race was set to start. Rukia's eyes widened. There were hundreds of people standing off to the sides of the assigned race track.

"Word gets out fast," Rangiku chuckled as they made their way through the crowds, finding a spot at the front.

Rukia watched as Ichigo headed towards Aizen with his horse. Aizen glanced over and smirked.

"You ready?" Aizen said. Ichigo nodded, grinning cheekily.

"Let's go."

People began to cheer as the two men hopped onto their horses, heading towards the start line.

A pale, thin man with long black hair, acid green eyes, and tattoos going down his cheeks like tears, walked out of the crowd and stood in between Aizen and Ichigo. Rukia thought he was one of Aizen's men, for they had the same white style outfit on. He began to whisper something to Aizen, and Aizen glanced over at Rukia. Rukia blinked in confusion. The black haired man glanced over at her too, and then back at Aizen, nodding. Aizen nodded in return and the brunette walked towards the crowd.

"Alright," he said to Aizen and Ichigo. "The course will start here and end where the river begins. Then you must ride back and first to cross the start line again wins." He pulled out a gun and raised it towards the air. "Three, two, one..." and he shot the gun and Ichigo and Aizen bolted off. People began to cheer and Rukia was thrown backwards into the crowd as people began to get rowdy.

"Hey, hey, Rukia!" Renji yelled, looking over the crowd for her.

"I-I'm okay!" Rukia raised her hand so Renji could see where she was. Renji sighed in relief.

"We should watch her," Rangiku said. Renji shrugged.

"It's alright, she's just over there. Can't expect any less from this wild town."

...

Ichigo grinned, urging his horse forward. He was far ahead of Aizen. "Good job, girl," he pat his horse lightly as she galloped full speed. Suddenly, he heard gunshots and his horse began to neigh loudly, raising herself onto her hind legs.

"W-woah!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing ahold of the reins tightly so he wouldn't fall off. He looked behind him to see Aizen catching up, with his gun out, shooting at Serenity's feet. "Fucker!" He growled, trying to calm Serenity down so she could continue.

"That bastard!" Rangiku gasped. "He's shooting at Serenity!"

Renji frowned. "Fuckin' cheater. Ichigo will still beat him." He said, more to himself than anyone. He glanced behind him, looking for Rukia. He blinked. Where was she? He glanced towards the alleyway behind the crowd of people and his eyes widened. Was that Rukia?

"H-hey!" Rukia screeched, trying to pull her hand away from the black-haired man. While she was watching from the crowd, he had snuck up behind her and grabbed her, running to the alleyway.

"Be quiet!" The man hissed. "Do not give me any trouble!" Rukia began to punch him in the stomach. He looked at her tiredly, feeling no pain. He pulled a cloth out of his shirt, covering Rukia's mouth with it. Rukia's eyes widened and she struggled against him, to no avail. She slowly felt herself getting tired, and soon enough, she passed out. The black haired man sighed in annoyance, throwing her over his shoulder and walking down the alleyway.

"Fuck!" Renji gasped. "Fucking Ulquiorra!" He looked around, trying to figure out what he should do. He spotted a man tending to a horse at the back of the crowd and nodded. He rushed towards him.

"Hey, hey you!" He yelled. The man looked at him curiously. "Lend me your horse!" He began to grab the horse's reins.

"H-hey, what the fuck?" The man asked angrily.

"Sorry!" Renji yelled, hopping on the horse and making his way through the agitated crowd. He quickly steered himself onto the race course, making the horse go full speed, chasing after Ichigo and Aizen.

"Renji?" He could hear Rangiku yell after him in confusion.

"Ichigo!" Renji roared as he began to catch up. "Ichigo! It's important!"

Ichigo glanced behind him. "Renji, what the fuck? Are you trying to make me lose?"

"It's Rukia! Aizen's guy Ulquiorra kidnapped her!" Ichigo immediately stopped his horse, Serenity's hooves sliding in the dirt, leaving a trail of dust behind her. Ichigo quickly turned around, ignoring the crowd's protests and yells of confusion. He hopped off of Serenity and ran to Renji, who was dismounting the other horse.

"What did you say?" Ichigo gasped.

"Rukia..." Renji sighed. "Ulquiorra... he kidnapped her... Rukia got lost in the crowd, I couldn't find her, but I ... I saw him take her away in an alley... I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry Ich, I -"

"Aizen's men took her?" Ichigo's eyes widened. He ran a hand through his hair angrily.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo..."

"FUCK!"

* * *

**Du dun dun! :D Haha, sorry, I know that ending kinda sucked...**  
**Anyway, I've posted another story! Check it out! It's called Check Yes Juliet. Hopefully some of you guys will like it... Thanks for reading! Please review! I'm SO sorry once again! Love you guys SO much!**


	11. Take Me Away

**Hey again! See, I told you I'd update again soon! :D  
The original chapter I'd written with these scenes was one of my favorites. Of course, my chapters were wiped out and I had to re-write them, and this one is still one I favor over others but it's definitely not as good as the original. Either way, it's a pretty strong chapter, I think, and I hope everyone enjoys it! It deals with a few serious subjects, and I'm terrible at writing anything that isn't super-yay-happy XD So I dunno how this'll work. I hope it'll turn out alright! **

_**Disclaimer:**__ Do not own Bleach or any of the characters, sadly.  
__**Warnings**__: Oh boy, here we go: Character death, OOC-ness possibly, violence, swearing, attempted rape, and bad writing, which I seriously apologize for. I wish I was better at this e-e_

* * *

_**Chapter 10 – Take Me Away**_(Avril Lavigne)

Ichigo let out a frustrated growl, hurling his hat across the room and running a hand through his hair hastily as he paced back and forth across his living room. "Shit!"

"I-Ichigo... are you alright?" Rangiku asked uneasily.

Renji leaned back in his chair, covering his face with a hand. "I'm so sorry Ich... it's all my fault."

"No it's not," Ichigo said, looking at his friend. "It's alright. We'll get her back. I'm just trying to think." He gave his two very worried friends small smiles. "Remember when we robbed Aizen's huge-ass hideout?"

"...Yeah?" Renji blinked.

"What do you think are the chances of him having moved his hideout since then?"

"Are you kidding me?" Rangiku scoffed. "After all the years he spent building that damn thing, I don't think he'd move it so quickly! I wouldn't, I mean -" Her eyes widened in realization. "I see where you're going with this!"

"So we know where she is!" Renji jumped up, grinning in relief. Ichigo nodded.

"Where she most likely is, at least. I'm nearly positive, though. So let's get goin'!" he exclaimed, rushing for the door, picking up his guns and hat along the way.

* * *

"LET _GO_ OF ME!"

Rukia screamed, thrashing wildly against Ulquiorra, who growled, continuing to hold her tightly over his shoulder. The brunette began to slam her fists against Ulquiorra's back, to no avail. Ulquiorra simply ignored Rukia's blows. They had no effect on him. "Fucking asshole! I said to _let go_!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Ulquiorra roared, silencing Rukia who froze, wide-eyed. Ulquiorra was furious, obviously not too happy about being chosen as Rukia's kidnapper. "Do you not understand when I tell you to be silent _once_ that it means to _stop talking_?"

"Asshole." Rukia mumbled in reply, ceasing all attempts of escaping. Ichigo would come eventually... right?

She sighed, looking up and examining her surroundings. She had no idea where she was; a large, white hallway that looked like it never ended. She craned her neck to look behind her, to see where Ulquiorra was walking. In front of them was a large, ceiling-high door. She blinked. Where the hell was she?

Ulquiorra knocked on the door. "I've come with the brat." He called loudly, and moments later, the door opened.

"Took ya long enough," someone commented. Rukia's eyes widened. In front of them was an extremely large room, with a long table right in the middle. About ten strange-looking people were sitting around it, staring at Ulquiorra expectantly.

"Be quiet, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra spat. "I do not see you making any effort in this."

"Why should I?" the man named Grimmjow replied. "I'm too good for that kinda shit." He smirked, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. Rukia raised an eyebrow.

He had wild turquoise hair, with tattoos of the same color in the corners of his eyes. His shirt was open, a very strange tattoo on his abdomen. It was a large black circle, making it look as if he had a hole through it. Rukia remembered seeing a similar tattoo on Ulquiorra's neck. What was this, some sort of demonic group?

"Very funny," Ulquiorra said dryly. "I have no time for this."

"Yeah, gotta go be a babysitter?" Grimmjow grinned. Ulquiorra growled.

"I wouldn't mind babysittin' 'er," another man at the table grinned widely, staring at Rukia. He had long black hair, with a large smile and an eye patch on. "Turn 'er around, will ya? I can't see 'er good enough."

"Do you ever know when to keep it in your pants, Nnoitra?" The only woman at the table sighed, burying her nose in the book in front of her.

"Aw, you're jus' jealous, Hallie." Nnoitra grinned at her. The woman narrowed her eyes.

"It's _Halibel_."

"Come on, I know you like me! Why can't I give you a nickname!"

"Shut up!" Halibel said angrily, slamming the book down onto the table. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes and shifted Rukia around on his shoulder.

"Well if you're gonna be like that, I'll just have ta find someone else." Nnoitra smiled. "Ulquiorra, gimme the girl. I'll take care of her."

"Aizen needs us to keep her _here_ until he returns. If she escapes, we are going to be held responsible and Aizen will not be happy." Ulquiorra replied. Nnoitra sighed.

"Whatever! I'll bring 'er to the extra room we've got upstairs. There's no way she can escape from there anyway."

Ulquiorra contemplated for a moment, then sighed, nodding. "Do as you wish, but do not harm her too much. Aizen will be angry if you do."

"Relax," Nnoitra said, standing up from his chair and walking towards Rukia. He slid her off of Ulquiorra's shoulder and onto his, ignoring her shrieks and kicks. "I won't hurt her... much." He grinned widely, exiting the room as Rukia screamed profanities at him, slamming his back as hard as she could with her fists.

"Let go of me! You fucking sicko! Let _go_ of me!"

Rukia's screams were drowned out as Nnoitra left the room, the large door slamming shut behind him.

* * *

"What's going on here?" Rukia screamed at Nnoitra as he threw her onto a large white couch. Rukia growled, trying to sit upright as Nnoitra locked the room's door. She looked around quickly. It was yet another large white room, with one barred window, a couch, a table, and a bed.

'_Great_', she thought. '_This is where I'll be stuck until Strawberry gets here...'_

"Ya know," Nnoitra grinned, examining Rukia's face from the other side of the room. He slowly walked towards her, Rukia narrowing her eyes. "You are real cute. Almost too cute." His smile was sending chills up Rukia's spine. Moments later, his face was only inches away from hers. Rukia cringed. She hesitated for a moment, but then spat on Nnoitra's face.

Nnoitra's eyes widened, his eyes trailing down to look at the saliva on his cheek. He looked back at Rukia, his mouth slowly stretching into another smile. His abnormally tongue darted out and licked his cheek clean. Rukia's eyes widened.

"Ya know, I love aggressive girls." The man grinned sickeningly. Rukia growled and attempted to slap him, but he caught her arm in mid air, twisting it roughly.

"Stop!" Rukia screamed, shutting her eyes tightly from the pain. "You'll break it!"

"So don't try and hit me again!" Nnoitra growled, forcing Rukia's arm back at her side. The brunette didn't move it again.

"Good." Nnoitra smiled. "So...how do ya feel about havin' a little bit of fun before you're held hostage 'til that berry friend of yours cooperates? Which'll be never, jus' so ya know. So actually, ya might as well before you're stuck here forever."

"Fuck you!" Rukia spat. Nnoitra grinned.

"Nah, you're supposed to say fuck _me_." There was a sickening glint in his eyes, and Rukia took this as her cue to kick him between the legs.

"Fuck!" Nnoitra's eyes widened, grabbing the area between his legs in pain. He toppled over and Rukia shot up, running towards the door. "Fucking bitch!" Rukia's eyes widened as she tried to open the door. It was locked.

Nnoitra stood up quickly, limping towards Rukia. "You're dead!"

Rukia slammed her fists against the door. "HELP!" she shrieked. "HE-" before she could finish, Nnoitra clamped his hand over her mouth. Rukia's yells of protest were muffled as he slid an arm around her and lifted her. Rukia's eyes widened and she began to kick her legs. Nnoitra ignored this and threw her onto the bed.

"Leave me alone!" Rukia screamed, attempting to roll off of the bed. Nnoitra quickly grabbed her wrists and untied his sash, pulling out the long cloth. He tied Rukia's wrists together and attached the other end of the sash to the headboard. Rukia began to panic, thrashing around wildly.

Nnoitra began to crawl onto the bed, until someone knocked on the door loudly. Both Nnoitra and Rukia froze, staring at the door.

"Nnoitra!" a deep voice called. "We have intruders! We need you right now!"

"Strawberry!" Rukia shrieked, relief flooding throughout her entire body.

"Fuck!" Nnoitra hissed. He glanced at Rukia, who was looking at him smugly. "I'm coming!" He called out. "You're staying right here." Nnoitra hissed, glaring at Rukia, whose eyes widened. Nnoitra got off of the bed and went to the door, unlocking it and opening it. He walked outside and shut the door behind him.

"Rudobone." Nnoitra said to the man waiting outside the door for Nnoitra. Rudobone blinked.

"Yes?"

"When I am busy with somethin', you _don't_ interrupt."

"A-ah, yes sir, but we have intruders, and -" Rudobone was cut off when Nnoitra pulled out a large knife, stabbing him in the stomach. His eyes widened, looking down at the knife that was impaled in his abdomen. Nnoitra grinned and slashed the knife downwards, causing Rudobone to yell out in pain and fall to the floor, blood seeping everywhere, staining the pure white floor.

Nnoitra stared down at the dying man and smiled. "There we go. Problem solved." He turned around and went back into the room, grinning widely, still holding the bloody, dripping knife. He quickly shut the door behind him and looked at Rukia, smiling at her confused look.

"Why am I back so quickly? Is that what you're thinking?" He smiled, walking towards the bed, holding the knife behind his back. "Well, you see, that precious Ichigo o' yours already made his way up here. I'm much stronger than him, o' course, so I dealt with him quickly."

Rukia's eyes widened slowly. "You're lying." She whispered.

"Wish I was," Nnoitra shrugged, "It would've been much more fun if he was actually worthy of fightin' me."

"You're lying!" Rukia screamed, trying to break the rope that was tightly encircling her wrists.

"Nope, look," Nnoitra grinned, raising the knife from behind his back. Rukia gasped as she saw the blood-covered knife, red droplets falling onto the white bedsheets.

"No!" Rukia screamed, thrashing wildly. "NO! I'LL KILL YOU!" She began to sob uncontrollably. Ichigo couldn't be dead. He just _couldn't_ be... but... the knife... "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"Calm down!" Nnoitra grinned. "I'm so much better than him, anyway." He crawled onto the bed, on top of Rukia. Rukia screamed and cried, trying to throw him off of her.

"You look good like this." Nnoitra commented, only causing Rukia to sob harder. He placed his hand on Rukia's shoulder, slowly sliding it down onto her chest.

"Stop it!" Rukia screamed, trying to wriggle out from underneath him. "Please! Stop it! Stop it!" She couldn't control her sobbing any more.

Nnoitra began to unbutton her shirt, not getting very far until the door opened again. Nnoitra swore to himself silently, realizing he forgot to lock the door. He turned to face the door. "What do you wa-" he stopped himself from finishing, blinking. "Oh, Aaroniero. What is it?" In the doorway was a man in similar clothing to Nnoitra, but with a strange mask on, covering his whole face.

"Aizen needs to speak to you." Aaroniero said. "He says it is urgent and does not sound too happy."

"God damn," Nnoitra sighed, sliding off of Rukia, who was trying to regain her breathing to normal, sniffing. "I'm kind of busy..." he said annoyedly.

"I can watch her until you come back." Aaroniero offered. "I am not needed to fight at this moment, so if you would like..."

"Yeah, could ya?" Nnoitra sighed. "It was gettin' good, too. Oh well, see ya later, cutie." Nnoitra turned to look at the still panicking Rukia, grinning. He nodded to Aaroniero, who nodded back, and left the room. Aaroniero walked into the room, and towards Rukia.

"N-no, please..." Rukia whispered, beginning to cry again. "Please don't do anything..."

"I apologize for Nnoitra's silly behavior. He is not supposed to be harming hostages." Aaroniero untied Rukia's wrists from the rope and Rukia's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're helping me?" She asked, quickly sitting straight and buttoning her shit back up.

"No." Aaroniero said. "I was given orders to make sure you were not harmed."

"...Oh," Rukia said quietly, looking down and wiping her red eyes. "Thank you anyway..."

Aaroniero didn't reply. Footsteps were heard in the hallway, and his head shot up. Rukia looked up curiously, only to see Aaroniero grab her wrist, tugging her off of the bed roughly and out of the room.

"H-hey!" She shrieked in confusion, trying to pull her wrist out of his grasp. "Let me go! What are you doing?"

"Aaroniero?" Grimmjow was looking at the two running down the hall confusedly.

"She has been an annoyance," Aaroniero said, looking back at his fellow partner. "I need to teach her a lesson. I'll return in a moment." He turned around again, pulling a shrieking Rukia down the hall.

"Okay," Grimmjow shrugged, turning back around and going the other way.

"Wh-what! I didn't do anything to you! Please, don't do what that other guy was about to do! Please, I'll do anything! Just don't -" Rukia was cut off when Aaroniero growled.

"Stop talking!" He quickly opened the very last door of the hallway, throwing Rukia inside and following right after. He shut the door and locked it. Rukia picked herself off of the floor, looking around the room. There wasn't much to look at; it was pitch black, save for the small amount of light coming through the door's window.

"What are you going to do to me?" Rukia asked shakily, watching as Aaroniero turned the lights on, turning to face Rukia. The brunette backed up slowly, until her back hit the wall. She slid down the wall and sat, hiding her face in her knees. She began to cry.

"Strawberry..." she whispered, sobbing. It suddenly hit her that Ichigo was dead.

"Why are you crying?" Aaroniero asked.

"Why do you care," Rukia sniffed, looking up at him. "You're the bad guy. You're supposed to be mean."

"No, I'm not." Aaroniero said, and Rukia blinked. Aaroniero slowly began to remove his mask, and Rukia's eyes widened.

"STRAWBERRY!" She screamed, quickly scrambling to her feet, throwing herself onto Ichigo, who fell to the ground, Rukia on top of him. Rukia hugged him tightly, beginning to sob uncontrollably.

"You bastard!" She screamed, sobbing into his shirt. "You scared the shit out of me! Nnoitra said you were dead!"

"Easy, easy, Rotwood!" Ichigo laughed, eyes wide. "Damn! You're a wreck!"

"You're so stupid!" Rukia screamed, punching his chest. "Disguising yourself... you're just... STUPID! I nearly had a heart attack!" She stared at her bewildered friend, smiling. Suddenly, she began to sob again.

"R-Rotwood!" Ichigo was confused. "Relax, I'm not dead! Come on, stop crying!" He sat up and Rukia got off of him, sitting next to him and wiping her face.

"S-sorry, I was just so scared..." Rukia whispered, looking down. Ichigo smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and holding her against him. He rested his head on top of hers.

"Don't worry, I'm here. I'd never leave you like that."

Rukia shut her eyes tightly, looking down. "Thank you..." she whispered.

"Hey," Ichigo frowned, lifting his head and looking down at Rukia. "What was Nnoitra doing to you?"

Rukia winced. "H-he...well... he tried to um..." she couldn't continue, hiding her face in her hands. "I was so scared..." she whispered.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "So he _was_ trying to...that fucking sicko..." he clenched his fists, disgusted beyond belief. "I can't believe he fucking..." he didn't know what to say. He rubbed his temples roughly. He stood up, holding a hand out for Rukia. "Let's go, we're leaving." Rukia nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling herself up. Ichigo grabbed Aaroniero's mask, and put it back on. He walked towards the door, opening it and looking back at Rukia.

"I'm your enemy, okay?" he said, and Rukia nodded. Ichigo held out his hand and Rukia walked over, putting her wrist in it. His hand tightened around her wrist and they walked out to the hallway. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were a few doors down, so Rukia began to shriek.

"Let go of me you bastard!" She yelled at Ichigo, trying to tug her wrist out of his grip.

"Hey, Aaroniero, need some help?" Grimmjow asked. Ichigo looked at them and shook his head.

"No," he said. "I can handle her. I will bring her down to Aizen." he said and Ulquiorra and Grimmjow nodded. Ichigo took Rukia down the stairs at the end of the hallway as she continued her screams of protest.

"Renji and Rangiku have already knocked out most of the others," Ichigo whispered as they went down the winding staircase. "We just need to find a way out and leave." Rukia quickly nodded, never stopping her cries for help.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the staircase, Nnoitra turned the corner. He looked at them confusedly.

"Aaroniero? What are you doing? I told you to keep her in the room!" he said angrily. Ichigo let go of Rukia's wrist and shoved her backwards, causing her to fall against the staircase. She quickly ran up a few stairs, watching the two.

Ichigo slowly pulled off his mask and Nnoitra's eyes widened in shock. Rukia blinked. Ichigo was staring at Nnoitra with a look she'd never seen before. She'd never seen him look so... _murderous_.

"You... what?" Nnoitra was much too confused to do anything. "You tricked me?" He growled.

"You're a fucking sicko." Ichigo hissed. "How the hell could you do something like that to Rukia?" His voice was raised. Rukia winced. They would get caught!

"So what," Nnoitra grinned, "She looked fuckable, can you blame me? Besides, she's nothing more than a who-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Ichigo roared, punching Nnoitra in the face, sending the taller man crashing to the ground. "You're a fucking sicko! I fucking _hate_ people like you!"

"Get used to it, Ichi!" Nnoitra grinned, licking blood from his lips. "I mean, you've dealt with rape cases before, right? Remember with -"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ichigo screamed, pulling out his gun. Nnoitra's eyes widened as Ichigo aimed it between his eyes.

Rukia's eyes widened as Ichigo pulled the trigger. She began to scream, nearly as loud as the gunshot that echoed throughout the entire stairwell. "STRAWBERRY!" She shrieked, mortified at the bloody mess that used to be Nnoitra's face. She covered her mouth with a hand, using the other to support herself against the wall. She felt as if she was about to puke.

Ichigo's gun was still held tightly between both of his hands, shaking uncontrollably, aimed at Nnoitra's face. His eyes were wide.

"What was that?" Grimmjow was heard from upstairs and Rukia gasped, looking up. She quickly rushed down the few stair steps, and grabbed Ichigo's arm.

"Let's go! Those others are coming!" Ichigo nodded, shoving his gun back into its holster, giving Nnoitra's body one last glance before they ran away.

"T-this way," he said shakily, grabbing Rukia's hand and running towards a door down the hallway. Rukia was shocked at how much Ichigo was shaking. He quickly led them out the door, and they were outside. Rukia looked around, eyes wide. It was like a desert, with pearly white sand, and a pitch black sky. There were dead trees everywhere.

"Renji!" Ichigo yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Over here!" Came a faint reply to their left. Ichigo grabbed Rukia's hand again and pulled her towards Renji's voice. Moments later, they came to a stop in front of Renji and Rangiku, waiting with all four of their horses.

"You guys look horrible," Rangiku gasped. Rukia looked down.

"Anyway, no time right now. We have to get going!" Renji said quickly, hopping onto his horse. "Come on, guys!" The others nodded and quickly hopped onto their horses and all of them began to gallop away from the large hideout. Rukia sighed in relief, knowing she wouldn't be stuck in that hell-hole.

"Thank you so much," She said loudly over the wind. Renji and Rangiku looked back at her, grinning.

"No problem!" They said and Rukia smiled back. She glanced next to her at Ichigo, who stayed silent, staring straight ahead. Rukia frowned. What was going on with him? She shrugged it off, deciding she would ask him about it once they arrived home.

"Do you think Aizen will come back after us?" Rukia asked loudly, worried. Renji grinned.

"Nope, we left him a huge threat. I doubt it."

"What did you do?" Rukia's eyes widened.

Rangiku smiled widely. "Oh, nothing!"

Rukia blinked. "A-ah..."

After about an hour of riding in silence, they arrived in Blue Note.

"Finally!" Renji grinned.

"Let's go drink!" Rangiku cheered.

"Rangiku, come on," Renji laughed nervously. "That's what got us into this in the first place."

"Fiine," Rangiku huffed.

After a few more minutes, they reached Ichigo's house.

"See you guys later!" Rangiku said, waving as she and Renji continued riding to their own house. Ichigo gave them a quick wave as he and Rukia tied their horses up and walked into his house.

Ichigo slammed his gun and hat onto the table, throwing himself onto his reclining chair. Rukia blinked, following him into the living room. He was sitting in the chair, leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his hands covering his face.

"Strawberry...?" she quietly walked up to him. "What's wrong? You've been acting strange..."

"I shot him..." Ichigo whispered, slightly muffled by his hands.

"Wh-what? Nnoitra?" Rukia blinked. "Yeah... it was pretty disgusting..."

"I shot him." Ichigo repeated, placing his hands in his lap, clenching them together tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white. He looked down, looking as if he was in immense pain. "I ... killed him."

"Strawberry, it's okay... He deserved it!" Rukia said quickly. "I mean, you've shot tons of other people before, this is the same thing. It's just -"

"No, Rotwood." Ichigo whispered. "I haven't. I've never shot anybody like that before."

Rukia's eyes widened.

"I've never killed before..." Ichigo whispered. He shut his eyes tightly, and Rukia noticed tears slide down his cheeks.

"St-strawberry!" Her eyes began to water. "I-I didn't know... I didn't know you were serious that time you said...oh my God..." she didn't know what to say. Ichigo covered his face again, his body shaking as he began to cry.

"I killed someone..." he whispered. "I _killed_ someone..."

"St-Strawberry...I'm so sorry... It's all my fault..." Rukia began to cry. "If I hadn't been so stupid..."

"It's not your fault," Ichigo forced words out of his mouth, never showing his face. "It's not... I had to, but I just can't believe I... fuck." his voice was thick with tears.

"I can't do anything right. All I do is make things worse for you." Rukia cried. She looked at Ichigo crying, and she felt as if her heart was breaking. "I'm so sorry, Strawberry... I'm so sorry..."

* * *

**;o; So sad...  
I know this was terribly written; I'm a horrible writer when it comes to sad scenes. I can never do them right. I'm too much of a happy person naturally. XD But I tried!**  
**I'm so sorry this wasn't too good of a chapter... I loved the original so much.. but oh well.  
Thank you for reading! Please review! I'll love you forever! I'd like to know what you guys think of this story!  
By the way, since this fic is so heavily based off of music, I posted a list of songs I used while writing every chapter! So it's like a soundtrack I guess. If you go to the livejournal link on my profile, you can see it! :) Maybe you guys could find some new songs to listen to while reading this! Thanks! Bye! LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	12. Darker Side of Me

**Hey guys! Sorry for the slow update. :( But I have reasons, I promise! I haven't forgotten about you guys! I haven't updated in so long, because I was moving houses. Yeah, during the break, it sucks... we would have been done quicker, but I have a big family with a lot of stuff, lol... Plus, when this break is done I have exams, so I also need to study... and I have three ISU's due the first day back. So needless to say, I'll be extremely busy... but I promise I'll try and update to the best of my ability! Sorry for the wait! This chapter took quite some time to upload because **_**oh man**_** is it ever long! I think it's the longest one on here so far! It was so difficult to write, too, for some reason... but I did it! And man, I hope you guys like it... I would love reviews. I worked so hard...  
Alrighty, I'll shut up now... I honestly need to cut down on the author notes. Sorry guys!**

_**Disclaimer:**__ Still don't own it unfortunately.  
__**Warnings**__: Swearing, ooc-ness, teensy bit of fluff (O NOES), bad writing, (slight) aaaangst, a pretty long chapter_

* * *

_**Chapter 11 – Darker Side of Me**_ (Veer Union)

_How stupid can one person be?_

Rukia frowned as she thought to herself, lying on her back on the roof of Ichigo's house. She stared up at the fluffy white clouds that were scattered across the light blue sky. It was a nice day out. It made Rukia angry; beautiful weather on a terrible day. It was a waste.

"I can't believe myself sometimes," she whispered, tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear. The incident at Aizen's hideout was two days ago. Ever since, nothing else had crossed through Rukia's mind. It was as if her brain was repeating the scene inside her head over and over again, simply just to torture her.

Rukia hadn't spoken to Ichigo since they returned. She couldn't bring herself to face him. She was so ashamed, having put him through that pain. "Why haven't I left yet?" Rukia sighed heavily. Really, why was she here? She was nothing more than a pain.

"Rukia?"

Rukia lifted herself quickly and looked behind her, into her bedroom window. Renji had walked through the door, looking around the room curiously. He noticed her outside the window and chuckled, walking towards it. "Mind if I join you?"

"N-no, go ahead," Rukia said quickly, sliding over for Renji. He climbed out onto the roof and sat next to her, making himself comfortable and sighing. Rukia also sighed and lay on her back again. Renji glanced over at her.

"You don't look very happy," he commented. Rukia frowned.

"Sorry..." she said quietly. Renji blinked.

"Don't be sorry! Are you still upset about Nnoitra?"

"Well... not about _him.._." Rukia sighed. "About the whole situation... how you guys had to do all of that just to help me because I'm so stupid."

Renji rolled his eyes. "Rukia, you _aren't_ stupid. Trust me, it's fine. Ichigo's fine now. You should really talk to him."

"I can't face him, Renji." Rukia said quietly. "After what I put him through, I just -"

"He's fine," Renji interrupted. "He would have felt worse if he _hadn't _shot that sick fuck. Believe me. You don't understand how much he hates Nnoitra. He's waited years to get revenge."

"Revenge?" Rukia asked curiously. Renji winced.

"It's a long story. Ichigo's relieved to finally be done with him, though. Alright? It's just a bit tough on him 'cause he hasn't killed before. Different for a guy like him, I know. But he's really still a kid if you think about it. Anyone would be traumatized by something like that, whether the person they killed deserved it or not."

"Strawberry isn't a kid," Rukia blinked. "He's been a criminal for how many years?"

"Not many," Renji chuckled. "He's only been seventeen for a month."

"_What_?" Rukia shrieked, sitting straight and looking at Renji, wide-eyed. "You're joking!"

"Nope!" Renji grinned. "Impressive, eh?"

"That's terrible! He's only two years older than me! Starting so young as a criminal?"

"Hey, can you really call him one?" Renji raised an eyebrow. "He gives money to a town that needs it. He doesn't kill people... often, I suppose. He's really nice, overall. I mean, he's kept you alive, hasn't he?"

"That's only because he has to, for more money." Rukia muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nah, I think he's got a thing for you." Renji winked. Rukia's eyes widened, her cheeks turning pink.

"Wh-what?" She spluttered. "Gross!"

"_You_'ve got something for him, huh?" Renji grinned widely.

"Never!" Rukia shrieked, slapping Renji's arm.

"Calm down, I believe you!" Renji winked again, raising his hands up in front of him in surrender as he sat straight. "Anyway, you should still talk to him. It's really fine, Rukia. We're not holding it against you, and Ichigo's not going to hate you or anythin'."

"I guess..." Rukia shrugged, looking down. Renji smiled lightly.

"C'mon, now." He patted her shoulder. "You've gotta go to Alcantara with me."

"Why?" Rukia blinked. Renji averted his eyes, his cheeks slightly going red. "... Renji?"

"I uh... need to buy something." he mumbled.

"What?" Rukia was confused. "What's up with you?"

"A ring," he coughed, turning his head away from Rukia, whose eyes widened.

"A ring?" She shrieked. "As in, a wedding ring? For Rangiku?"

"Not so loud!" Renji hissed, covering her mouth. Rukia pulled his hand away and let out an excited shriek.

"That's great, Renji!" she hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad!"

"Thanks," Renji grinned, hugging her back. "Come on, you have to help me pick one out while Rangiku's visiting friends today! I haven't had any other free time to go so today's my chance."

"Alright, let's get going!" Rukia yelled, grabbing Renji's hand and pulling him inside through the window.

Once they were downstairs, they began to put their boots on until Ichigo walked into the room.

"St-Strawberry," Rukia said quietly, looking up at him. Ichigo gave her a light smile.

"Yo, Rotwood..."

"Listen, I'm really sorry for -"

"You're real annoying," Ichigo sighed, his quiet demeanor suddenly changing to his usual cocky attitude. "Get over it."

Rukia gaped. "You're an asshole!" she grumbled, shoving her other boot on roughly. Renji chuckled lightly.

"Where are you guys going?" Ichigo asked.

"To Alcantara," Renji said. "To get the uh... yeah." He averted his eyes and Ichigo grinned widely.

"Finally, dumbass." He laughed. Renji glared. "Anyway, mind if I go with you?"

"For what? You gonna buy _Rukia_ a ring?" Renji grinned cheekily.

"Asshole!" Rukia and Ichigo yelled simultaneously, then glared at each other. "Shut up!" They growled. "Stop copying me!"

"Calm down you two!" Renji laughed. "You need us to pick something up for you, Ich?"

"I need to go buy wigs," Ichigo sighed, leaning against a wall. Renji and Rukia blinked.

"What for?" Rukia asked. Ichigo stood straight and walked towards them both, pulling something out of his back pocket. It was a piece of the newspaper he must have ripped out.

"Look at this," Ichigo said, holding the paper out for the two of them to read.

"Kurosaki Ichigo's Latest Kidnapping," Renji read the headline, eyes slowly widening. "Kuchiki Byakuya's Younger Sister!"

"What?" Rukia gasped. She glanced to the side. "There's even a sketch of me?"

"So people can notify Byakuya if they see you. So we need to go buy wigs." Ichigo sighed. "You're such a pain." He shoved the newspaper clipping back into his pocket and flicked Rukia's forehead.

"Asshole!" Rukia glared. Ichigo stuck his tongue out at her and began to put on his boots, grabbing his guns.

"Wow," Renji sighed. "Why do you think he let that get out?"

"It's getting closer to the set date for him to give me the money," Ichigo said. "He hasn't found her yet, so he's probably gettin' desperate."

"What an idiot," Rukia mumbled, opening the front door. "Sorry for the trouble, you guys..."

"Stop saying sorry already!" Ichigo sighed. "It's like every second fuckin' word outta your mouth."

"Well I -"

"Let's just go!" Renji quickly shoved the two out the door, following them right after and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

After they arrived in Alcantara by horse, Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji looked around, searching for a good jewellery store.

"What about this one?" Rukia asked, pointing towards a building that was quite small. It was slightly beat up and the bricks looked as if they had long ago faded, but the sign in front of it was brightly painted, showing the name _Hinamori's Jewels_.

"It looks kinda crappy," Renji commented. Ichigo shrugged.

"I've know this store, a good friend of mine... his wife runs it. I haven't heard anything bad about it."

"Let's give it a try then!" Rukia smiled, heading for the store.

Once they walked inside, they glanced around and were impressed. On the outside, the store wasn't very attractive, but the inside was quite nice. It was nice and neat, with a flowery smell. There were spotless glass displays holding different styles of jewellery and brightly decorated walls, holding many paintings.

"Welcome!" A cheerful voice called from the back room. Moments later, a short brunette woman with her hair tied up in a bun walked out, smiling. She noticed Ichigo and her eyes widened. "You!"

Rukia's eyes widened. Were they in trouble now? Had that lady seen the newspaper?

"Momo!" Ichigo grinned. The shorter woman rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. Rukia raised an eyebrow. Ichigo knew her?

"Where have you been, you bastard!" The short woman named Momo pulled away from Ichigo, jabbing a finger into his chest, glaring up at him. "It's been how long?"

"I've been busy," Ichigo grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "How are you and Toshiro?"

"Expecting," Momo averted her eyes, smiling widely as she lightly placed a hand over her slightly bulging stomach. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"That's great!" He glanced back at Renji, grinning. "My friend here is looking for a ring for his girlfriend... hopefully they'll have their own babies soon too."

"H-hey!" Renji glared. Ichigo grinned and Momo smiled brightly.

"I'll help you choose the perfect ring, then!" She grinned at the red-haired man. Her eyes quickly darted over to Rukia, noticing her for the first time. She blinked. "Who's this?"

"Rukia, Ichigo's girlfriend." Renji said quickly. Rukia and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"REN-"

"Really?" Momo shrieked loudly. "He finally found someone?" She rushed over to Rukia and hugged her tightly. "Nice to meet you! I'm so glad!" She pulled back, examining Rukia, a bright smile on her face. "You're cute! Have you and Ichigo ever considered kids? Oh, could you imagine?" She clasped her hands together, looking up dreamily. "Your eyes and hair with his good looks... wow!"

"We-we're not together," Rukia said quickly, laughing nervously. "Renji just says that we are." She glared at the redhead, who avoided making eye contact with her.

"Aww," Momo pouted. "I was so excited, too..."

"About that ring," Ichigo said quickly, changing the topic. Momo nodded happily, smiling.

"Right, right!" She walked over to Renji, placing a finger on her chin, thinking hard. "Do you have a design in mind?"

"Ah, not really..." Renji shrugged. "I just want something that'll show her I love her... maybe something with a little bit of pink in it? She likes pink."

Momo thought for a moment, and then grinned widely. "I think I have the perfect ring!" She rushed behind the cash counter, crouching low and searching through the shelves, containing several little boxes. "I really like this one, I don't keep it out on display... but I think this is exactly what you need... aha!" She pulled out a small deep-violet velvet box, standing straight and smiling. She walked over to Renji and opened the box, showing him the contents. Ichigo and Rukia rushed over to look inside the box, and their eyes widened.

"Wow..." Rukia breathed, grinning. "It's perfect, Renji."

The ring was a thin platinum band, with square-cut white diamonds and pink sapphires encircling it. It shined elegantly in the light from the window behind Renji. It was so simple, yet so special and unique.

"She'd love it..." Renji whispered, gently taking the box from Momo's hand, examining the ring closely. He noticed a price tag on the ring and glanced at it. "Shit!" His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the box.

"Hey!" Momo gasped, quickly grabbing the box from his hands. "Don't drop it! What's the matter?"

"It's... it's too expensive... I can't afford even _half_ of that..." Renji whispered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry... do you have anything cheaper?"

Momo looked at him sadly. "Aw, I'm sorry... Yeah, we do... there's more pink sapphire rings in the display in the far corner." She pointed to a display and Renji nodded, thanking her.

"Let me see the price," Ichigo said. Momo pulled off the price tag and handed it to him. Rukia peered over his arm at the price. Her eyes widened.

"That's expensive!" She gasped. Ichigo looked at the price and bit his lip lightly in thought. Then, he looked up at Momo.

"I'll pay for it." He decided. Renji gaped.

"I-Ichigo, there's no way in hell I'm going to let you -"

"I'll pay for it." Ichigo repeated. Momo blinked a few times.

"Are you sure?" Momo asked quietly. "I mean, if it's for Renji's girlfriend, wouldn't Renji feel better if he bought it himself?"

"Yeah, Ichigo. I'll get a different one." Renji shrugged.

"Fine, Renji can pay whatever he has. I'll pay the rest." Ichigo said simply.

"Strawberry..." Rukia said quietly, looking up at him.

"You agree, right Rotwood?" Ichigo asked, looking at her. "Wouldn't this ring be perfect for Rangiku?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Exactly. Wouldn't it be a shame if Renji had to get another ring?"

"Yes..."

"Do you think it's a good idea if I help him pay for this one?"

"Yeah, but -"

"Alright, it's settled. We'll take this one, Momo." Ichigo smiled.

Renji frowned. "I-Ichigo! I don't want -"

"Calm down," Ichigo sighed. "Think of it as an early wedding gift from me." he grinned. He looked at Renji seriously. "Honestly, Ren. Just accept it. Don't you want to see Rangiku's reaction to this ring?"

Renji looked down in thought. After a few moments, he looked up at Ichigo, a look in his eyes that Rukia couldn't decipher. "Thanks, Ich..."

"There we go," Ichigo smiled. "Don't mention it, dumbass. Just say yes right away next time, eh? Save us the trouble of nagging ya."

"You asshole." Renji scoffed, smiling. Momo blinked.

"So... you want this ring?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah, he does." Ichigo said, walking with Momo to the counter and pulling a wad of money out of his pocket. "Momo, I don't have all of it with me right now and I'm not close enough to get it from my house right now, but you trust me, right? I'll give you what I have right now, and I'll bring the rest of what I owe you tomorrow."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Momo stuck her tongue out at him.

"C'mon, Momo." he laughed. "If I don't bring it tomorrow morning, send Toshiro after me to get the rest. He knows where I live."

Momo looked up at him, smiling. She thought for a moment, quickly glanced over at Rukia and nodded. "Fine," she said. "On one condition."

"What?" Ichigo blinked.

"Give Rukia a kiss." Momo grinned. Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened.

"Fuck no!" Ichigo gasped. "Why?"

"You two would be so cute together!" Momo exclaimed. "Come on, do it!"

"No!" Ichigo shouted. "I'll kiss _Renji_ before I kiss her!"

"Oi, don't give her ideas!" Renji wailed, hiding behind a display case.

"Fine, guess you can't afford the ring." Momo shrugged, moving to put the ring back on its shelf.

"A-ah! Fine!" Ichigo said quickly, holding a hand out. Momo froze and grinned widely, standing straight and placing the ring box back on the counter top.

Rukia quickly backed up, glancing behind her to see where the door was so she could make a quick escape.

"R-Rotwood, c'mon!" Ichigo sighed. "It's for Renji."

"I don't want to kiss you!" Rukia whined.

"Renji won't get to give the ring to Rangiku!" Momo said loudly, smiling. Rukia froze. She thought for a moment, then sighed, shoulders slumping.

"Fine." She muttered, walking over to Ichigo. "No tongue."

"Why the fuck would I tongue you?" Ichigo hissed. He raised his hands, then hesitated, fingers twitching. Slowly, he placed them on Rukia's shoulders and pulled her closer.

"Kiss her!" Momo cheered, clapping happily. Ichigo sighed and Rukia shut her eyes tightly, becoming uneasy. He bent down and brought his face closer to hers. He took a deep breath, and quickly gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Heeeey!" Momo whined as Ichigo quickly shoved Rukia away from him, wiping his mouth.

"Ugh," Rukia made a disgusted face, wiping her cheek roughly. Then, she let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't an actual kiss.

"That doesn't count!" Momo whined. "Kiss her on the lips!"

"You never made that clear," Ichigo grinned. "I gave her a kiss. A deal is a deal, Momo."

"Fine." Momo huffed, snatching Ichigo's money from his hands and shoving the ring box in its place. "Asshole."

"Thanks," Ichigo grinned. Momo glared at him. "Here Renji," he walked over to Renji and handed him the small box. Renji looked down at it, then up at Ichigo. He smiled lightly.

"Thanks, man." He said quietly.

"Any time," Ichigo shrugged, "Now let's get going. I've still gotta get those wigs."

"Right," Renji and Rukia said. The three said goodbye to Momo and thanked her, and headed out the door.

"I'm going to have a skin disease now," Rukia groaned, rubbing the cheek Ichigo kissed.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growled. "If anyone is going get sick, it'll be _me_. I can't believe...ugh." he shuddered, thinking of the kiss.

"You both enjoyed it." Renji muttered, smirking.

"Did not!" Ichigo and Rukia yelled. Renji rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me go return the ring," Ichigo threatened. Renji's eyes widened and he quickly shoved the ring box in his vest. He was about to pull his hand out, then froze. He blinked.

"Hey..." he said slowly. "I didn't pay for any of the ring!" His eyes widened. He glared at Ichigo. "Bastard!"

Ichigo grinned. "You can pay me back by buying us the wigs." He shrugged as they walked towards a salon a few feet further than Momo's store.

"Sneaky bastard." Renji hissed as they entered the large shop.

"It smells like hair products." Rukia crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Weeeelcome!" A man with short black hair that perfectly framed his face waved happily from behind the counter at the far end of the store. His attire was quite unique compared to what the three had seen around town. It consisted of many feathers and bright orange material.

"Hi..." Ichigo said slowly, examining the man's appearance, raising an eyebrow. Rukia grinned, amused by the man. Renji looked away to keep from laughing.

"I'm Yumichika, welcome to my store! Are you looking for anything in particular?" The man skipped from behind the counter, walking towards the three. His body slightly swayed to the invisible music and Ichigo's eyebrow raised even more.

"We're uh... looking for wigs..." he said, slowly backing away.

"Wigs!" Yumichika exclaimed. "We have some nice wigs! Follow me!" he skipped towards the left side of the store, holding out his hand, showing them the head displays, holding wigs in many colors and styles. Next to them was a large, clean mirror. Yumichika was about to continue speaking, until someone in the back called his name. He looked towards the back door. "Coming!" He looked back at Ichigo. "You can try them on, but don't mess any up." Then he rushed towards the back.

"What an interesting guy," Rukia blinked, tilting her head slightly. Ichigo scoffed.

"Faggot is more like it." He said, poking at one of the bright pink dyed wigs.

"Hey!" Rukia scolded. She frowned. "That's rude."

"Whatever," He shrugged. "Just pick a wig already."

Rukia huffed and examined the female wigs, raising an eyebrow. Weren't these itchy?

"Hey Ren, look at this." Ichigo chuckled, putting a wig on his head. It was similar to his hairstyle, although the hair was slightly longer, and it was dyed black.

"I think that one looks pretty cool, actually." Renji shrugged. "What do you think, Rukia?"

"Hm?" Rukia looked up to examine the wig. Ichigo looked at her and she froze, eyes widening. Ichigo blinked.

"Rotwood?" He asked. "Does it really look that bad?"

Rukia couldn't speak. "Kaien." She whispered, still staring up at Ichigo, her eyes still wide.

"Huh?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck is a Kaien?"

"I...I..." Rukia stuttered. Tears filled her eyes and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Woah! What the hell? Rukia?" Renji began to worry.

"I'm sorry," Rukia said, shaking her head quickly. "I'll wait outside." She quickly wiped her eyes and rushed outside the store.

Ichigo blinked, pulling the wig off. "Did I do somethin' wrong?" He asked confusedly. "What's a Kaien?" he repeated.

"I don't know..." Renji said quietly. "It sounds like a person, not a thing."

"A person..." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Weird." he shrugged, grabbing a random long blonde wig, heading towards the counter with said wig, and the black one he previously had worn. After Yumichika returned from the back, Renji paid for the two wigs and he headed outside with Ichigo, to see Rukia leaning against the building, covering her eyes with one hand.

"Rotwood?" Ichigo asked slowly. Rukia's head quickly shot up and she noticed the two men. She forced a laugh and stood straight, smoothing out her skirt.

"Sorry about that," she said quickly. "I uh... I don't know what happened there. It won't happen again."

"You sure you're okay?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You were practically cryin'."

"I'm _fine_." Rukia insisted. "Let's just go."

Ichigo shrugged and sighed. Renji nodded. He glanced up at the sky and his eyes widened.

"Shit!" He gasped. "You guys, I need to leave. It's almost time for Rangiku to be coming home and I need to hide this ring before she gets back..."

"Go ahead," Ichigo laughed lightly. "We'll follow you soon. There's still a bit o' stuff I have to do."

"Alright. Sorry." Renji winced.

"Go ahead, Renji. You don't want to ruin the surprise for Rangiku." Rukia smiled and Renji smiled back, nodding, and then he rushed off.

Ichigo and Rukia stood there for a bit, watching their redhead friend leave. Then, Ichigo sighed and stretched his arms out widely. "C'mon, let's keep going."

"What else do you need?" Rukia asked as they continued to walk through the town. Ichigo shrugged.

"Nothing," he admitted. "I just wanted to talk to you. You seemed bothered back there."

"Since when do you care?" Rukia asked curiously.

"I _don't_ care," Ichigo said quickly, sighing. "I'm just curious."

"I think you care." Rukia said, smirking. Ichigo glared at her.

"Do you wanna get a beating?"

"You wouldn't hit me!" Rukia sneered.

"At least you're back to normal." Ichigo sighed, glancing upwards at the slowly darkening sky.

Rukia frowned. "Sorry. I know it was really sudden and unexpected of me, but I just... I don't know." she shrugged.

"Who's Kaien?" Ichigo asked and Rukia's head shot up. Ichigo nodded to himself. "So it is a person. Your boyfriend or something?"

Rukia looked down and didn't answer. Ichigo glanced over at her. "Do you not want to talk about it...?"

"Not really," Rukia admitted. "But I guess you deserve to know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." the brunette sighed. "He wasn't exactly my _boyfriend_. My brother was good friends with his family, and he figured we could gain more if Kaien and I got married. So it was sorta arranged for us... so he was pretty much like my fiancée."

"Oh..." Ichigo blinked, registering Rukia's words into his mind. Then he realized. "...Was?"

Rukia closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them. "He died." she said quietly. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly. Rukia smiled bitterly.

"He looked a lot like you, but he had black hair. So when you put that wig on, it just... I thought of him." Rukia whispered. "It was really stupid of me," she forced a laugh. "So sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Ichigo blinked. They were so caught up in talking that they didn't realize they had begun to head down an alley. "It's my fault."

"No it isn't!" Rukia said quickly, looking up at him. "I'm just too sensitive about it..."

"... Can I ask what happened?" Ichigo asked slowly. Rukia looked down, clenching her hands into tight fists. "Never mind." He said quickly.

"It's just..." Rukia began. "It's hard to talk about... because it's my fault he died." she whispered. "It was _me_ who killed him."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Not _purposely_...?" he said quietly. Rukia shut her eyes.

"It was, actually..." Tears began to fill her eyes. "I didn't _want_ to... but I felt threatened."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo was in shock. Was Rukia's past really this bad?

"My brother suggested I stay at his house for a night, to get acquainted with him..." Rukia sighed. "Kaien was a big alcoholic. I mean, he was a great guy. He was really nice to me... and I sort of began to even like him." she shrugged. "But that night... he drank so much... and when he's drunk, he's _agressive_."

"Oh..." Ichigo said quietly. Rukia nodded slowly. She continued.

"He came back from drinking, and he was being pretty rough... I wasn't happy with that. I decided to just keep shoving him off, but eventually he just kept getting _worse_. I had no clue what I should've done... and you know that I keep a gun on me as defense. I was so scared... so I pulled my gun out..." Rukia's voice cracked. She didn't continue.

"Wow..." Ichigo whispered.

"I know this probably changes everything," Rukia said quickly. "If you feel strange around me now, I totally understand."

"Strange how?" Ichigo blinked.

"As if I might pull the gun on you too... I have an opening, don't I?" Rukia said quietly. Ichigo laughed lightly.

"I'm pretty sure I know you well enough to know that you'd never do that. Unless I provoked you, I doubt you'd shoot me. Am I right?" He smirked. "Besides, I don't think it's strange at all... because I've been in the same situation... almost." His facial expression turned grim. Rukia blinked.

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

"My family died when I was young... and it's my fault." Ichigo whispered. Rukia's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry... How?" she gasped.

"I was a bratty kid," Ichigo sighed. "I had a lot of enemies... and this one guy... Kaname Tousen... I honestly have no idea what I did to him... but he hated me... and went after my family."

Rukia felt as if her heart had stopped when she heard the name Tousen. It couldn't be...? "I-I..." she stuttered. "I don't know what to say... he killed your family?"

"Yeah." Ichigo whispered. "It's not like I directly killed them... but if I hadn't pissed Tousen off in whatever way I did, they probably would have still been here... we would have -" Ichigo cut off once he began to choke, eyes widening. Rukia jumped.

"Strawberry?" She shrieked. Ichigo clutched at his neck, falling to his knees. "Strawberry!" She rushed over to him, grabbing onto his shoulders. She looked around wildly, only to notice they were in the middle of a long alleyway. No one was around to help. "Shit! Strawberry, are you okay?" She began to yell, panicking as Ichigo began to twitch and gag.

"R-Rotwood!" He growled roughly. Rukia's eyes widened. He didn't sound like himself. "Get _out_ of here!" He sounded demonic. Rukia couldn't move. What was going on? "NOW!"

"No!" She shrieked, falling to her knees and facing him. He was looking down, but Rukia could see a wild glint in his eyes. She couldn't control her heart. It was beating wildly. She was afraid.

Suddenly, it began to rain. Rukia gasped and stared up at the sky. Large droplets of water began to fall to the ground quickly, and soon enough, it was pouring. "Not _now!_" she shrieked. "S-Strawberry, we've gotta find somewhere to go! You'll get sick like this!" She tried shaking him, but he roughly ripped himself out of her grasp and fell to the ground, writhing and thrashing wildly. He began to groan and yell, covering his head with his hands, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Rotwood, I'm begging you, leave!" He screamed, looking at her. Rukia froze. His eyes were glazed over, as if he was possessed. He looked like a wild animal. Rukia didn't know what to do. Should she leave? She looked around and noticed an exit in the alleyway. She took in a deep breath, and rushed over to Ichigo. "What the fuck are you doing?" he roared. Rukia shut her eyes tightly and wrapped her arms around him, beginning to lift him with all of her might.

"Come...on...Strawberry..." she groaned, straining herself to hold him up. Ichigo thrashed wildly against her, but she never stopped. Once she got him to his feet, she pulled him towards the exit.

"Let go of me!" Ichigo yelled, trying to break out of Rukia's iron grip.

"I'm trying to help you!" Rukia shrieked, flipping her head back to move her wet hair away from her face. The rain was falling harder than ever. "Almost there..." she groaned, continuing to drag a struggling Ichigo along. She looked behind her, eyes widening. The exit _wasn't_ an exit! It was an opening in the alley wall that led to the back door of a building! "Shit!" she gasped.

"Leave me alone!" Ichigo continued to attempt and shove Rukia away. Rukia began to cry. She was so overwhelmed with worry and confusion; she didn't know what to do.

"_Please_!" She shrieked, sobbing. "Just calm down! Please! Somehow!" She screamed at Ichigo, who never ceased his attempts of escape.

"I _can't_!" He roared. "Just leave me here!"

"No!" Rukia screamed. She roughly grabbed him and turned around, facing the door. She braced herself. Hopefully there was no one inside. One shaky arm reached out and grabbed the slippery doorknob. Slowly, she turned it. Her eyes widened. It wasn't locked!

"Okay, go inside!" She told Ichigo, who growled. She shoved the door open and threw him in, quickly rushing in after him and shutting the door quickly with a slam. She rested her back against the door, shutting her eyes and sighing in relief, her breathing shaky and uneven.

"Leave me alone!" Rukia opened her eyes to see Ichigo's shadowy figure in the dark room, yelling at himself, writhing on the wooden floor and clutching his head. She was worried. What was going on with him? She quickly scanned the room for anything that could help them in their situation, but blinked when she found absolutely nothing in the room. It was simply a dark, damp wooden building. It was completely empty, and had a faint sickly smell of what she thought could have been copper.

"Shit..." she whispered. What could she do? She looked back at Ichigo, who was still screaming. She shut her eyes tightly and braced herself once more, and rushed over to him, falling to her knees and hugging him tightly. Ichigo froze for a moment, staring wide-eyed. Rukia let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, just when he had begun to calm down, he began to scream again, his arms wildly hitting Rukia in the side. She let out a shriek and shut her eyes tightly, tears forming. No matter what he did, she couldn't let go of him, she told herself. She had to help him.

"Get out of my head!" Ichigo screamed, his voice growing hoarse from constant yelling. "Leave me alone! Everybody needs to leave me alone! I just need to die!"

"No!" Rukia yelled, hugging him tighter. "You don't need to die! And you won't be left alone!"

"Leave me alone!" The teen screamed at her. Rukia's grip never loosened.

"No! I'm not leaving you alone! I'm going to stay and hug you all night if I have to! You're _not_ going to die!"

"Nobody would care if I died, leave me the fuck alone!"

"I care!" Rukia screamed. "I care. Please, calm down! I'm here for you! Please!" She began to sob. This was a nightmare.

"You're lying!" Ichigo was hysterical. This couldn't be _him_. It was like there was a demon living inside of him.

"No, I'm not! I promise, I'll stay here forever!" Rukia buried her face in his shoulder. "I promise! Just calm down! I promise..." Ichigo slowly grew less wild and Rukia looked up at his face. His eyes were slowly returning to normal. His facial expression became blank. His body became limp, and he slowly closed his eyes and fell against Rukia. Rukia's eyes widened and she quickly pushed him up and lightly placed him on the floor.

"Rotwood... sorry..." he whispered weakly. Then, his head fell limp and he was asleep. Rukia let out a large sigh of relief, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead.

"What the hell was that?" She whispered, her voice thick with tears. Never in her life had she experienced something to traumatizing. Even Kaien's death hadn't scared her so much. Thankfully, it was over. It would be impossible to take Ichigo home in this weather, so she decided they would stay in the building for the night. "I hope you're okay..." she whispered to Ichigo's sleeping form. The brunette sighed and lay next to him, shifting around to become as comfortable as possible on the rough wooden floor. She closed her eyes and slowly, she began to drift to sleep.

* * *

**Yeah! Finally finished this! This chapter took me ages to write, so I would definitely appreciate reviews so much! Sorry about the crappy ring description, by the way... I'm terrible with that kinda stuff, but I tried!  
Thank you guys! Love you!**


	13. Out Of Control

**Yo! Too busy singing Ashlee Simpson to myself to leave a proper author's note!  
(OUTTA MY, OUTTA MY, WANT YOU OUTTA MY HEAD! Lalalaa sorry I know I'm gonna die for this... LOL!)**

**(AND ALL I HEAR IS AY-YA-YA-YA-YA YOU'RE TALKING WA- -shot-)**

**(I'm sorry, I really like that songggg... haha)**

_**Disclaimer**__: __Don't own Bleach. AY YA YA YA YA.  
__**Warnings**__**:**__ Abuse, use of alcohol, flashback death, aaangst galore, unrealistic...ness (made up sickness?), bad writing, somewhat long chapter?, possible character death?_

* * *

_**Chapter 12 – Out of Control**_ (Hoobastank)

"_Kaien..." Rukia whispered, backing up slowly against the wall. Her eyes widened as Kaien stumbled over to her. _

"_Heyyy," he slurred. "Didja miss me?" He grinned and chuckled drunkenly. "I miss'd youuu... so I came home..."_

"_You're drunk..." Rukia said shakily. "You just need to sleep, alright?"_

"_Will you s-sleep with me?" Kaien asked slowly, unaware of his surroundings, tripping over a loose wooden floor panel. He lifted himself off of the ground, chuckling. He finally reached Rukia and wrapped his arms around her waist, bending over and nuzzling his face in her neck. "Rukiaaaaa, you smell gooood..."_

"_K-Kaien, get off," Rukia forced out, overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol on Kaien. The black-haired man's grip suddenly tightened around her waist and Rukia's eyes widened. "Kaien, honestly! Get off!"_

"_I know you like me, Rukiaaaa." Kaien laughed. "Why do you want me off? You're lyyyying." _

"_Get _off_!" Rukia shrieked, roughly shoving Kaien away. He flew backwards, his back hitting a chair. The chair fell to the ground with a clatter, and Kaien glanced behind him at it, chuckling lowly. _

"_That was a bad idea, Rukiaaa..." he said, slowly walking towards her once again. "You know what your bro-brother told me?" He grinned widely. "He said... if Rukia – that's you – decides to be disobedient, I can do whatever I want to you... he tells me how he beats you... s-since I'm your future husband I can do it too, right?"_

"_No..." Rukia whispered, covering herself with her arms as Kaien came closer. He smirked and raised a hand, slapping Rukia across the face. Rukia shrieked and fell to her knees, clutching her cheek. Kaien grinned widely and kicked her in the side roughly. Rukia cried out and toppled over, shutting her eyes tightly as Kaien continued to roughly beat her._

_Many moments passed. Rukia continued to cry and Kaien continued to hit her. Rukia made no move to stop him, for she realized she must get used to this... it would most likely happen often once they were married. Suddenly, Kaien grabbed her roughly by the hair and Rukia shrieked as he began to lift her up. She quickly stood up, and Kaien shoved her against the wall. _

"_We're going to have fun, right?" he smiled, pulling out a knife from his pocket. Rukia's eyes widened and she began to shake._

"_Kaien... what are you doi- NO!" she shrieked as Kaien began to cut her blouse open. She roughly shoved him away and he fell to the ground. Kaien growled. _

"_You're going to wish you didn't do that!" He roared, rushing to his feet and pointing the knife at Rukia. Before he could go any closer, there was a loud gunshot and he fell to the ground. The knife fell from his hand, his head limply falling to the side. He was dead. _

_Rukia began to sob, clutching her fingers tightly around the gun in her hands. She lowered it slowly, realizing what she had just done. "Kaien..." She whispered, watching blood begin to pool around his limp form. "KAIEN!"_

"KAIEN!" Rukia screamed, quickly sitting up straight. She stared straight ahead of her, to see a blank wooden wall. She slowly blinked, then gasped. She looked around wildly. She was in the empty building. "It was just a nightmare..." she gasped, placing a hand over her heart, trying to calm herself down.

Once she managed to calm down slightly, she glanced around. The sun was out, so the room was lit with the help of windows. The room looked like a bedroom. Were they in an abandoned house? There was a ratty, old bed in one corner. Rukia sighed. Why hadn't she seen this last night? Her back was sore from sleeping on the hard, cold wooden floor. The brunette lifted herself off of the floor and stretched her arms out. She attempted to flatten her wild and messy hair, and walked towards the bed, curious as to where they were. Once she reached the bed, she glanced down and her eyes widened. The bed was covered in dried blood!

"Where the hell is this?" Rukia gasped. She looked around the room. The walls and the floor had blood splatters everywhere. Thankfully, it could not have been recent, for the blood was brown and dried. Rukia began to feel sick. _That's_ what the copper-like smell was.

"Rotwood?" a drowsy voice called out. Rukia turned around and saw Ichigo's sleepy form. He yawned widely, slowly rising to sit straight, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He squinted and scanned the room. "Where are we?"

"We're uh..." Rukia blinked, trying to think of how to explain. Ichigo didn't remember anything? "We're in just some empty house, I think...in Alcantara." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. He was still much too exhausted to fully take in his surroundings.

"Why?"

"We were shopping yesterday, and on the way home... after Renji left... you went a bit... crazy." Rukia said quietly. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"D-did I hurt you?" He stood up, walking over to Rukia and grabbing her, examining her. Rukia blushed, swatting his hands away.

"N-not badly. I'll be fine." Rukia shrugged it off, rubbing her side where Ichigo had hit her. It _did_ hurt quite a bit. Ichigo noticed and attempted to lift her shirt. Rukia shrieked. "What the hell?"

"No!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I just want to see the mark."

Rukia sighed and lifted her shirt slightly and Ichigo saw the deep, violent bruise forming on her side. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rotwood. Why the hell didn't you run?" He demanded, opening his eyes and looking at her in confusion.

"Don't worry about it." She forced a laugh. "I just... I was worried," she averted her eyes. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Ichigo smiled at her. "You're not bad, Rotwood." He chuckled. Rukia stuck her tongue out at him, her cheeks flaring.

"So where are we, anyway?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, glancing around. Rukia turned away from him, examining the bed and walls once more.

"I don't know, I..." she turned around to look at Ichigo, and trailed off. Ichigo was frozen, eyes wide, staring at the walls. Rukia blinked. He began to shake uncontrollably. "Strawberry?"

"R-Rotwood... we have to leave." Ichigo managed to force out, his voice small and weak. Rukia frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"_Please_." Ichigo's voice cracked. "Let's _go_." He was trembling violently. Rukia was terribly confused. What was his problem?

"Alright..." Rukia said slowly. She grabbed Ichigo's arm, for he would not move from his spot, and pulled him outside of the house, through the back door that led to the alleyway. Once they were outside, Ichigo regained his composure and took the lead, grabbing Rukia's hand and quickly pulling them out of the alley, far away from the house. Once they had ran far enough, Ichigo let go of her and leaned against a brick building, covering his face, breathing raggedly.

"What the hell was that about?" Rukia asked curiously. Ichigo's hands slid away from his face.

"That house..." he whispered, glancing up at the cloudy sky. Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"I know, it was really disturbing... the blood everywhere, especially on -"

"Stop it!" Ichigo yelled. Rukia was taken aback. "Don't _ever_ talk about that house again."

"Why? Strawberry, you're scaring me." Rukia was concerned. Was he going to lose control again?

"I just hate that house." Ichigo whispered.

"Do you know the people that used to live there, or something?" Rukia asked. Ichigo closed his eyes.

"Yeah... my family."

Rukia's eyes slowly widened. "No..." she gasped. Ichigo nodded. "I-I'm so sorry... I had no idea...that..." she couldn't find words. The blood splatters... the ruined bed... that was Ichigo's home?

"Never talk about it again, please." Ichigo sighed, pushing himself off of the wall. "Let's just get going home."

Rukia nodded and quickly followed Ichigo as they began to walk out of town. She glanced down at his hand that was swinging at his side as he walked, and lifted her own hand. She hesitated, her fingers twitching. Slowly, she slid her hand into his grip, entwining their fingers. Ichigo glanced down in surprise, but Rukia just looked at him, giving him an understanding smile. Slowly, Ichigo returned a small smile, and they continued to walk.

* * *

"Alright, soup's done!" Rangiku cheered, walking into the dining room, holding a large, bubbling pot. Renji, Ichigo, and Rukia winced, the terrible stench reaching their noses.

Ichigo and Rukia had returned to Ichigo's house well in the afternoon. Renji and Rangiku had been worried, since the two had not come back at night as planned. They had decided to wait at Ichigo's for the arrival of the two, and were relieved once they had finally reached Blue Note.

Rangiku was so relieved that she had decided to cook for all of them. Rukia and Ichigo were a bit nervous, for they had heard horrible stories from Renji of Rangiku's cooking mishaps.

"It... it looks great, Rangiku." Renji winced. Rangiku smiled and began to pour the soup into the four bowls set in front of everyone. Rukia peered into the bowl. The soup was bubbling and making strange gurgling noises. It was as if the soup was... alive?

"I know it _looks_ bad," Rangiku said, sitting in her seat. "But it tastes great!"

Slowly, Ichigo grabbed his spoon and dipped it into the soup. Slowly, he brought a spoonful to his mouth, Renji and Rukia admiring his bravery. Suddenly, after the spoon touched his lips, Ichigo froze and began to shake, eyes wide. The soup began to splatter out of the spoon.

"Hey!" Rukia hissed, "Don't act like that! You'll insult Rangiku!"

Renji blinked. "H-hey, Ichigo?"

Ichigo's spoon fell to the table with a clatter and Ichigo roughly stood up, his chair falling backwards, and keeled over. He began to cough and choke. Rukia's heart began to pound wildly. Not again...?

Quickly, Ichigo rushed out of the room and up the stairs. Renji quickly shoved his seat away, rushing upstairs after Ichigo. Suddenly, the room was silent, Rukia and Rangiku staring at each other blankly.

"Waaah!" Rangiku wailed, latching onto a surprised Rukia. "They don't like my cooking!"

* * *

Renji sighed, discarding the used needle into a wooden box. "Feeling any better?"

Ichigo stared at the floor grimly from his seat upon the couch. He was shirtless, and was coated in a thin layer of sweat. "... Yeah, a little." He managed to say. "About the drug..."

"There's one more dose left." Renji sighed. "I've already got someone bringing it tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ichigo sighed, rubbing his forehead. He was exhausted.

"Your cycle has been faster lately." Renji commented. "Maybe it's the stress?"

"Actually... it happened last night, too." Ichigo admitted. Renji's eyes widened.

"What?" He gasped. "Two days in a _row_?"

"Rukia sorta helped me out – I didn't hurt her, don't worry – and we kinda fell asleep in ... an abandoned ... house."

Renji stared at him sadly. "Ich..." His expression turned serious. "How much longer are you going to keep her here?"

"What?" Ichigo asked, looking up at him.

"I mean Rukia." Renji sighed. "Ichigo, how much longer?"

"Until Byakuya's gone. I promised I wouldn't let her go back to him."

"Ichigo, she'll _die_ before then." Ichigo's fists clenched, but Renji continued. "I like her and all, but I'm thinking of the two of you... this can't go on for much longer."

"I'll train her, then." Ichigo shrugged. "So she can survive."

"Ichigo, you can't do that!" Renji sighed annoyedly. "She's still so young... would you really do that to her? She's already suffered so much in just a _month_. No other person her age should have to experience this kind of shit. Do you want her to turn into someone like _you_?"

"What do you mean, like _me_?" Ichigo spat.

"Her mind will become corrupted! All of this fighting around her!" Renji exclaimed.

"She's stronger than that!"

"Ichigo, she's _fifteen_!"

"I'm only seventeen, and I'm just fine!"

"Can you really call yourself fine, Ichigo?" Renji sighed. "_Look_ at you. Do you want Rukia to suffer like this too? I _know_ you aren't happy. Don't even try to fucking lie to me."

"I don't want her to be unhappy," Ichigo mumbled. "But I'm not giving her back to Byakuya."

Renji sighed dejectedly, realizing he couldn't convince Ichigo. "Just think about it, alright? Think of what's _best_ for her. Not what she wants." He gave Ichigo one last weary glance, before leaving the room. "Try and get some rest."

Once Renji exited the room, he saw Rukia outside the door, looking down and clutching the hem of her shirt. She noticed his feet and her head shot up. Renji winced. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough." Rukia said quietly. Renji sighed.

"Sorry you had to hear that, Rukia..."

Rukia didn't answer. She slowly lifted her head to look at the redhead. "_I'm_ sorry, Renji..." she whispered. Renji gave her a light smile and ruffled her hair, walking past her. Rukia glanced into the doorway, seeing Ichigo leaning back on the couch, his eyes closed and a scowl across his face. She hesitated, and then walked into the room slowly.

"S-Strawberry?" she asked quietly. Ichigo's eyes snapped open and Rukia flinched. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ichigo waved it off.

"Are you worried about something?" Rukia asked. Ichigo shook his head. Rukia sighed. "Liar."

"How am I lying?" Ichigo demanded. "Nothing is bothering me!"

"So why do you look so bothered when your eyes are closed? Heck, even when they aren't! All you do is frown, frown, frown!" Rukia exclaimed. "I just want to help you... why won't you ever open up to me?"

"There's nothing to open up about, we've only known each other for a month." Ichigo sighed.

"That's unfair!" Rukia shrieked. "I've told you so much about myself! I've told you personal things I haven't told _anyone_ else! And what do I get in return? Next to nothing! You've hardly told me _anything_ about yourself! It's not fair!" Ichigo stared at her thoughtfully. When Rukia saw he wasn't going to say anything, she sighed and looked down. "... I just wish you would trust me. So what if it's only been a month? I feel like it's been more than that. I feel like I can trust _you_. So what's your problem?"

"Rotwood, it's not that I don't trust you." Ichigo sighed, standing up and rubbing his neck, frustrated. "I just... as weird as it seems, it's difficult for me to open up to people. You're the first person I've ever even _somewhat_ opened up to, apart from Renji. I've really never been personal with anyone."

"That's not good," Rukia sighed. "That's why you're so grumpy."

"I have a problem, Rotwood." Ichigo gave her a stern look. "A _serious_ problem." Rukia looked at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. Ichigo rubbed his forehead. "Ever since that incident with my family, it's like I ... have _something_ inside of me. Like a monster, maybe."

"What?" Rukia gasped. Ichigo sighed and sat back on the couch, leaning over and resting his elbows on his knees.

"After my family was killed... I became really... murderous." Ichigo said slowly. "I hated it. I didn't want to be a murderer. I didn't want to kill anyone... so I slowly forced myself to get rid of those thoughts. I was so badly affected by the whole thing, every once in a while I kind of lose control, and I snap, and I just... want to destroy everything in my path."

"That's terrible..." Rukia whispered, shocked by this information Ichigo was giving her. She had no idea he suffered through so much.

"So basically, I try to keep that killer version of myself bottled up inside... but sometimes it gets the best of me, and I just..." Ichigo trailed off. He laughed bitterly. "I know it sounds bizarre... but that's how I look at it. I really don't know what it is, exactly, that makes this happen to me."

"So lately... since you've been stressed, it's happened more often?" Rukia asked. Ichigo nodded. "Because of me..." Rukia whispered. Ichigo looked at her sternly.

"_No_." He said. "It's fine, it'll go away soon enough. Once Byakuya is done with, it'll be normal again. I'm taking medication for it, and that helps most of the time."

"But Strawberry, I -"

"Rotwood, it's _fine_." Ichigo sighed. "Please, don't worry. It'll be alright. Just... promise me from now on, when I snap like that... _stay away_."

"I can't promise that!"

"_Rotwood_."

"...Fine." Rukia said slowly. Ichigo smiled lightly and stood up.

"C'mon, to make up for missing lunch, we'll go eat out somewhere."

"You sure you want to go somewhere so soon?" Rukia asked worriedly. Ichigo sighed heavily.

"Rotwood, you're so freakin' annoying. I'm al_right_." He turned Rukia around and shoved her out of his door. "Go get ready!"

"H-hey!" Rukia whirled around once Ichigo had pushed her into the hall, but he had already closed and locked his door behind her. She glared. "Jerk." She sighed and walked to her room, a million things running through her mind as it tried to process everything Ichigo had just told her. How horrible...

"There you are." Renji sighed and Rukia jumped once she walked into her room. Renji was sitting on her bed, waiting for her. "Listen, Rukia... I'm really sorry about that -"

"Don't worry, Renji." Rukia smiled. "I understand. Don't worry about it."

Renji smiled in relief. "Thanks..." He got up and made to head for the door, then froze. "Right!" He whirled around to face Rukia, who looked at him curiously. "I need a favor..." his voice lowered and he glanced outside Rukia's door suspiciously.

"What is it?" Rukia asked. Renji dug through his pocket and pulled out the box containing Rangiku's wedding ring. Rukia blinked.

"Can you hide it for me?" Renji asked quietly. "Rangiku's bound to find it if I hide it in our house..."

"S-sure." Rukia said, taking the box from him gingerly and glancing around her room. "Oh, I know!" She rushed over to a spot underneath her bed, lifting the wooden panel. "I tripped over this loose panel one night. It'll be good in here."

"Great," Renji sighed in relief as Rukia shut the panel lightly over the ring box. "I owe you one, Rukia."

"Are you guys ready yet? Damn, you're all fuckin' slow!" Ichigo yelled, stomping down the stairs. "Let's get going, I'm hungry!"

* * *

"Aaaah, I'm so full!" Rangiku exclaimed happily, leaning back in her seat and placing a hand over her stomach. She glanced around the busy restaurant. "When'd you find this place, Ichi?"

"A while back," Ichigo shrugged, scooping the rest of his meal onto Renji's plate. The redhead devoured it in seconds. Rukia watched him in amazement.

"You really are a hungry person, huh Renji..." she muttered. Renji simply grinned, gulping down his beer.

"He's a freeloader." Ichigo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Always comin' over to my house and stealing my food..."

"I'm not a freeloader!"

"Renji, don't talk with your mouth full, that's gross!"

"Sorry Rangiku..." Renji muttered. Ichigo glanced outside.

"Let's get going," he said. The other three nodded and they rose. Ichigo headed towards the store owner and paid him for their food, and they all headed outside.

"It's so nice out today," Rangiku commented, raising her arms above her head. Rukia nodded, smiling. She looked ahead of her at the people bustling by, and one person caught her eye. She blinked.

It was a woman wearing a long white trenchcoat, with the collar covering her mouth. Rukia's eyes widened. She recognized those eyes and that hair...

Suddenly, the woman noticed Rukia's stare and glanced over. She froze in her tracks. "You!" she shrieked.

Ichigo's head snapped towards the woman and he gaped. "Halibel?"

"What?" Rangiku gasped.

"It's _you_!" Halibel shrieked, storming towards the four. A clowd slowly began to form around the five of them. "The man who killed Nnoitra!"

"He deserved it!" Ichigo spat. Halibel shrieked in anger and quickly pulled out a large pistol. She pointed it at Ichigo's forehead, and Ichigo's eyes widened. Rukia gasped, and Rangiku quickly grabbed her, tugging her behind her back.

"H-hey!" Renji yelled. "C-calm down, let's deal with this calmly!" He stepped in front of Ichigo, in front of the gun, and Rangiku's grasp on Rukia's arm tightened.

"Renji, what the -"

"Shut up, Ichigo." Renji stared into Halibel's eyes, determined. "Come on, Halibel... just put the gun down."

"NO!" Halibel shrieked. "I need to kill him!" She shoved Renji out of the way, but Renji would not settle for this and quickly rebounded, tackling Halibel to the ground.

"_Renji_!" Rangiku shrieked. Her grip on Rukia's wrist was so tight; Rukia could feel her circulation being cut off.

Renji grabbed a hold on Halibel's gun, but the blonde's grip never loosened. The two began to fight for the gun roughly. They stood up and Renji managed to get the handle of the gun in his hands. The two continued to attempt to wrench the gun out of the other's grip, to no avail.

Ichigo growled. "Renji, just -" before he could finish, a large _bang_ was heard. Rangiku let go of Rukia's wrist and reached her hand towards Renji, screaming. The crowd went silent, and Renji and Halibel were staring straight ahead, wide-eyed.

They remained like that for a few more moments, and the crowd slowly grew relieved. Rangiku let out a long sigh, putting a hand to her heart. Neither of them had been shot.

Suddenly, Renji's figure slumped over. Rukia's hand flew to her mouth, and Rangiku's eyes slowly widened. Before she could even make a move, Renji's body fell to the ground.

* * *

**BWAHAHA! My first cliffhanger! Well... I think. Well, an interesting one, at least! What'd you guys think of this chapter? I hope you all liked it! It took me a while, for some reason. I just didn't have the motivation to finish it. But it's done, yay! Personally, I liked the part where they held hands. It wasn't an "I love you" kind of action, just a "I understand what you're struggling through" friendship kinda hand-hold. :D It made me happy to write, though! What'd you guys think?**  
**(Holy crap, guys! We hit 100 reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you SO much!)**


	14. The Ghost Of You

**Here I am againnnn! Thanks for all of the support, guys! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!  
I'm seriously gonna shut up this time, so let's get on with things! Heh, I feel like you guys will like the end of this chapter.  
(SHORT HUH? Bahaha!)  
**  
_**Disclaimer**__: __erm, no... I still don't own it...I'm only a fan doing what I do best – butchering an awesome series with crappy fanfics! Lol!  
__**Warnings:**__character death, funeral, extremely bad writing, angst, swearing, use of alcohol, implied sexual situations (ouu la la)_

* * *

_**Chapter 13 – Ghost of You **_(My Chemical Romance)

A wave of silence washed over the crowd as they watched Renji's body fall to the floor. Ichigo dropped his gun he had been attempting to load, and Rangiku screamed.

"RENJI!" She made an attempt to run to Renji, but Rukia quickly grabbed her arm. "Rukia, let go!" Rangiku cried.

"Rangiku, Halibel could hurt you too! Please, just -" Rukia was cut off when Rangiku pushed her away and ran to her fallen lover. Rukia was sent flying backwards from Rangiku's push, and fell on her back. Ichigo's head whipped over to where Rukia was and he noticed she had fallen. His eyes widened and he quickly rushed over, helping her up.

Rukia struggled to her feet with the older teen's help. "S-Strawberry, R-Renji... he's..."

"Don't say it." Ichigo whispered, his voice shaky. He shut his eyes tightly. "Don't say it."

"RENJI!" Ichigo and Rukia quickly looked back towards Renji. Rangiku was kneeling on the ground, clutching his lifeless body to her. She sobbed into his hair. "Don't leave me! Please, Renji!"

Rukia felt tears fill her eyes as she watched the saddening scene. Slowly, the crowd of people grew smaller and smaller. Few stayed and gave sympathetic looks. Halibel had not moved an inch from her spot, staring down at Renji the entire time, wide-eyed.

Ichigo and Rukia quickly ran over and knelt next to Rangiku. Rangiku never looked up at them, continuing to cry.

"R-Rangiku..." Ichigo had trouble speaking. He saw his best friend's lifeless body, and tears began to fill his eyes. "Renji..." he whispered. The tears began to fall down his cheeks quickly. He didn't make any move to wipe them. "Fuck!" He yelled, slamming a fist into the dirt. Rukia watched as he lowered his head and sobbed. Rukia then began to cry harder. After a few momets, she quickly wiped her tears away, and looked up at Halibel, anger burning in her eyes.

"This is _your_ fault!" Rukia yelled, her voice thick with tears. Rangiku slowly looked up at Halibel. The look in Rangiku's eyes was undecipherable. She gave her a look of pure hatred.

Halibel's breath hitched, noticing Rangiku's look. "I...I..." Halibel could not form words.

Rangiku's eyes darted towards the gun lying on the ground a foot away. Slowly, she reached for it. Halibel stiffened.

Rukia's eyes widened as Rangiku's grip around the gun tightened, her finger fidgeting with the trigger. Rangiku lifted the gun to aim at Halibel slowly, and Rukia shut her eyes.

Moments passed, and Rangiku never moved. She continued to aim at Halibel, and Halibel waited for the shot. Suddenly, Rangiku's grip loosened, and she tossed the gun a few feet away. Ichigo, Rukia, and Halibel looked at her oddly.

"Rangiku..." Rukia whispered. Rangiku shut her eyes.

"If you don't want me to kill you, leave now." She said firmly, never looking up. Halibel opened her mouth, and then closed it. She did not move. Rangiku looked up and saw that Halibel was still in her former spot. "I said _leave_!" she screamed.

Halibel nodded and quickly rushed off. Rangiku watched her leave and once she was completely out of her view, she looked back down at Renji. Tears began to fill her eyes once again.

"Rangiku, you shouldn't have done that." Ichigo had managed to compose himself. Although his eyes were red and puffy from crying, and there were tearstains on his cheeks, he did not allow himself to cry any more.

"Even if I killed her..." Rangiku whispered, stroking Renji's hair lovingly, "It would never help. Nothing will ever help... Nothing will bring Renji back." Suddenly, she began to sob again, hugging Renji's body tightly.

Rukia quickly looked away, unable to watch Rangiku for any longer. She glanced up at Ichigo. "What are we going to do?"

"We can't do anything." Ichigo shut his eyes tightly. "We just need to... leave Rangiku for a little bit."

Ichigo and Rukia stayed silent after that. They allowed Rangiku some time with Renji, and set off to doing the task of organizing Renji's funeral. Ichigo had an expensive casket brought in for Renji, and made a place in his family's gravesite for him.

During the funeral, only Renji and Rangiku's closest friends had been invited. They all came to see the burial, paying their respects to Renji, and talking to Rangiku for a few minutes, before leaving. Rukia could not bring herself to speak to Rangiku. Rangiku looked incredibly hurt, and Rukia's heart ached just looking at her. The teen had also stayed away from Ichigo. Ichigo had kept to himself the entire time, ignoring everybody who attempted to make conversation with him. He stayed off to the side, his hands in his pockets, watching the scene before him with a blank expression on his face. He seemed emotionless, but Rukia saw the deep hurt in his eyes.

Once everyone had left and Renji had been buried, Rangiku placed flowers at his grave, and walked towards her home. Rukia decided she would go along with Rangiku, to make sure she was safe. She tried catching up with Rangiku, but the older woman was walking too fast.

"R-Rangiku!" Rukia exclaimed. "Wait for me!" Rangiku slowed down slightly, glancing behind her.

"Hello, Rukia." Rangiku said quietly, a dead look in her eyes. "I'm not in the mood for anything right now, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to do anything," Rukia said quickly. "It's just... it's late out, I'll walk home with you. I don't want you to be alone." Rangiku looked down at her and her eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, she burst out sobbing and hugged Rukia tightly, crying in the younger girl's hair.

"Oh Rukia, I miss him so much already!" Rangiku cried. "Why did it have to be Renji? Why did we have to be there at that time?"

Rukia shut her eyes tightly, allowing Rangiku to cry. She hugged her back slowly, rubbing her back. "I don't know, Rangiku...but it's alright... Renji's watching over you, now. Soon enough you'll be together again."

Rangiku continued to sob for a while longer. Rukia continued to comfort her, until they were ready to walk again. Rangiku quickly wiped her tears away, standing straight and fixing herself, then fixing Rukia's hair she had messed up.

"I'm sorry, Rukia... it's just going to be hard for me for a while, to get used to this..." Rangiku sniffed as they continued to walk again. Rukia forced a smile, nodding.

"Don't worry, Rangiku... I'll always be here if you need comfort."

"Thank you, Rukia." Rangiku said sincerely, looking down at the teen thankfully. "You're so kind."

"Oh!" Rukia's head shot up as she remembered something. "Rangiku, I have something to give you."

"What is it?" Rangiku asked quietly. Rukia looked ahead and noticed they were near Rangiku and Ichigo's houses.

"It's from Renji." Rukia said, and Rangiku blinked. "Here, wait in your house and I'll be there in a minute." Rangiku nodded and Rukia quickly rushed into Ichigo's house as Rangiku slowly entered her own.

Rukia quickly rushed up the stairs, taking no notice of where Ichigo was. She ran into her room and fell to her knees, wrenching open a loose floorboard. She rummaged around, and found Rangiku's wedding ring. She clutched the box tightly and rushed out of her room and down the stairs, out of the house. She headed into Rangiku's house across the way and looked around. Rangiku was glancing around the living room at Renji's posessions that were strewn everywhere.

"Rangiku..." Rukia said quietly, and Rangiku looked up at her curiously. Rukia took a deep breath and walked towards Rangiku, stopping in front of her. She swallowed. "T-This is from Renji..." She slowly held out the ring box, and Rangiku looked down at it oddly, not knowing what it was. Slowly, realization hit her and her eyes widened.

"No..." she whispered, her hand slowly reaching out and grabbing the box. "No..."

Rukia swallowed back her tears. Shakily, she said, "...H-he was going to give it to you soon..."

Rangiku slowly opened the box with shaking hands. Once the room's light hit the ring, it glittered brilliantly. Rangiku let out a shaky breath as she pulled the ring out, dropping the box to the ground. She slowly examined it, tears filling her eyes and spilling out rapidly. Rukia shut her eyes. She couldn't watch this, but she had to. She forced her eyes open and watched as Rangiku hesitantly slipped the ring onto her finger. She glanced down at it and fell backwards onto a chair, holding her hand up and looking at the ring. Her other hand flew to her mouth, and she shut her eyes tightly as she began to sob, the tears wracking her body.

Rukia's eyes filled with tears, watching the heartbreaking moment. Rangiku bent over, sobbing into her hands. The young brunette could not watch any longer. She couldn't handle this.

"I-I'm sorry Rangiku." She choked out, and ran out of the house. She quickly ran to Ichigo's house, shutting her eyes tightly as she ran. Why did this have to happen? Why?

She rushed into the house and slammed the door shut. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "I have to stop crying..." she whispered. "I have to get a hold of myself."

She then looked up and glanced around. Ichigo was nowhere in sight. She blinked and glanced up the stairs. No lights were on. She heard a clinking of glass and her head shot up. It was coming from the kitchen. She quickly made her way into Ichigo's kitchen and there he was.

Ichigo was leaning against his kitchen counter, a large glass of whiskey in his hand. On the counter beside him was bottle after bottle of alcohol, and two of them were already finished. There was a pained look on his face as he drank from his glass deeply.

"Strawberry..." Rukia said quietly. Ichigo looked up from his drink and noticed Rukia standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Rotwood..." he mumbled. He was not drunk, but he was not completely sober. "I was just...I want to forget." He sighed. Rukia sniffed and nodded understandingly. Ichigo examined her, noticing her puffy eyes and shrugged. He placed his glass down on the counter and turned around, reaching for another large glass. He grabbed the half-empty bottle of whiskey and poured the rest of it into a cup. He motioned for Rukia to come over, and she did. "Here," he said, handing her the glass. He picked his own glass up once again and continued to drink.

Rukia blinked, watching him drink, and then looking down at her own glass. "Strawberry, I don't want to get drunk...I..." Rukia stopped and thought about it for a moment, and then ruled out all of the good choices. One night wouldn't hurt. She sighed and quickly took a gulp of the whiskey, wincing as it burned her throat.

One by one, the alcohol bottles became empty. Ichigo and Rukia continued to drink, and drink, and drink. They had not realized they had run out of alcohol until they were forcing drops of whiskey from the bottom of their glasses.

"Damn it... there's no more." Ichigo slurred, peering into the beer bottle. "Let's go to the bar... I want more."

"Nooooooo..." Rukia whined drunkenly. She had already thrown up. Ichigo had too, but he was ignoring it and continuing to drink. "It's making me sick..."

"Well, I want more, so come with me." Ichigo sighed, stumbling and grabbing Rukia's hand, dragging her outside and heading for a bar.

* * *

Ichigo spent an hour at the bar; drinking until all of his pocket money was finished. Rukia had refused to drink another drop, and after throwing up once more, managed to sober herself up slightly, though not very much so. Once they were kicked out for Ichigo's drunken behavior, they attempted to find the way back to Ichigo's house. Rukia led the way for most of the journey, seeing as how her mind was functioning more properly than Ichigo's.

Once they reached Ichigo's area, Ichigo laughed dumbly as he recognized his house. "H-here's my house..." He slurred. "I knew we'd find it..."

Ichigo hummed drunkenly as he and Rukia stumbled onto his porch. Ichigo clumsily pulled out his key and stuck it in the lock, fumbling with it until he finally unlocked his door. He did not turn the knob, but pressed all of his weight against the door, deciding that's how it would open.

"Strawberry.. you're doin' it wrong..." Rukia mumbled, going underneath his body, which was still pushing against the door. She grabbed the knob and twisted it, opening the door. "W-woah!" She shrieked as Ichigo toppled over, on top of her, in the entrance of his house.

Ichigo groaned, making no move to get up and shut the door. He continued to lay there, on top of Rukia, his hands being the only means of support from crushing the younger girl.

"You're heavy," the brunette whined. Ichigo sighed.

"Shut up. Maybe if you didn't weigh like 5 pounds I wouldn't seem so heavy."

"I weigh more than that, for your information. I'm not a friggin' stick."

"So? That's still nothing. And you are too a stick... and a midget."

"Shut up! You're just too embarassed to admit you're fat!" Rukia looked up at Ichigo, smirking. Ichigo looked down at her, gaping.

"I am not fat! I ... you have pretty eyes." He blinked. Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"Huh... thanks?"

"No, really... They're like the color of grapes or somethin'. They're cool. I've never seen grape eyes before."

Rukia stared at him. "...Grape eyes? Well, - _oomph_!" Rukia had the wind knocked out of her when Ichigo's arms dropped and he fell full-flush on top of her. "What are you doing?"

"My arms were hurting." Ichigo complained, resting his head in the crook of Rukia's neck. "You smell good..."

"You're an idiot when you're drunk. I hate drunk people." Rukia tried to squirm her way out from under Ichigo, to no avail.

"You're sorta drunk too... An' besides... I kinda like it. It makes me forget the bad things." Ichigo mumbled. Rukia sighed; he was like a little kid when drunk.

"So? I have more common sense right now at least... just get off of me, it's hard to breathe!"

"But I like being close to youuu..." Ichigo whined.

"... At least let me be on top then. So I can breathe."

"Fine," Ichigo sighed and lifted himself up off of Rukia, rolling onto his back as she crawled on top of him, resting her head on his chest.

"There," Rukia sighed, beginning to feel sleepy.

"This is actually uncomfortable." Ichigo said, trying to get up.

"No fair!" Rukia protested. "So you can stay on top of me, but I can't stay on top of _you_?"

"Fine, let's go to my bed then. That way we can both be comfortable."

"Okay," Rukia sighed, standing up with Ichigo. They stumbled around, shutting the door with difficulty, and headed upstairs. Many moments later, they finally reached his bedroom door and threw it open, walking inside and flopping onto Ichigo's bed. Ichigo and Rukia quickly slid under the sheets and cuddled together face-to-face to keep warm.

"It's warrmmmm..." Ichigo mumbled, smiling stupidly. Unconsciously, the arm he had wrapped around Rukia's waist slowly slid underneath the brunette's shirt. Rukia giggled.

"It tickles..." she mumbled as Ichigo began to caress her bare back.

"You're real pretty, Rotwood." Ichigo sighed. His arm slid out from under Rukia's shirt, and took its place under her skirt. His hand slid up her thigh and Rukia let out a squeak.

"Too high!" She gasped. Ichigo grinned and leaned forward. He began to kiss her neck, his hand continuing to roam underneath Rukia's clothes. Slowly, Rukia's clothes were removed piece by piece.

"No fair, you've gotta get some clothes off too." Rukia muttered, sitting up straight with Ichigo. She unbuttoned the few buttons Ichigo had done up on his vest and slid it off, beginning to work on his shirt's buttons while Ichigo quickly began to pull his pants off.

The two spent the rest of the night doing an unforgivable deed; one they knew they would regret in the morning.

* * *

**Bow chika wow wowwwwwww... Huhu. Erm, well, the ending isn't **_**as**_** bad as the beginning, but the beginning is terrible, and I apologize for that. I had no motivation writing this chapter, it just wouldn't come out! I lacked motivation for this chapter so much that I had half of chapter fourteen written before I even finished this! Lol! I had a huge block during this chapter... but thankfully, I finished it! And I know it is very crappy, and I apologize. :( Hopefully the ending was somewhat amusing and made up for the rest of it.**

**I tried researching how funerals back then worked, and I just couldn't find anything that helped, so I made the funeral details very vague. I'm sorry :(**

**Please review! Thanks so much! **


	15. Stand In The Rain

**Hey guys! I'm supposed to be studying right now, but I figure since I haven't updated this in a while; I owe you guys a chapter... especially after where I left off last time. Haha. Not much to say, so let's get going! This chapter is weird; it goes from slight humor to heavy angst... haha, sorry about that.**

_**Disclaimer:**__I do not own Bleach :( BUT I'M FINALLY CAUGHT UP! Haha! Ulquiorra's release makes me laugh...but YAY FOR MORE STARK IN THE MANGA! ILU STARK!  
__**Warnings**__**:**__ Swearing, angst, self-mutilation mentions, bad writing... nothing else, I think..._

* * *

_**Chapter 14 - Stand In The Rain**_ (Superchick)

"Strawberryyyy..." Rukia moaned in her sleep, rubbing her cheek against the pillow. "It's not the green one... it's the red one... stop being such a dumbass..." She smiled sleepily and wrapped her arms tightly around Ichigo, who was still sleeping peacefully. Rukia sighed happily and thought of how cuddly Ichigo was... and how good he smelled.

_'He smells amazing...'_ Rukia thought, unconsciously. _'I wonder what he does... he's really comfortable too... wait. ... Why am I sleeping next to Strawberry_?'

Rukia's eyes snapped open and she stared ahead of her, wide-eyed, to see Ichigo's sleeping face centimetres away from hers. Her jaw dropped. Had they fallen asleep in the same bed?

"Ouch!" Rukia gasped, bringing a hand up to clutch at her forehead. "Hangover..." she thought angrily. "I'm so stupid. I can't believe I drank."

She let out a wide yawn and sat up straight, stretching. Mid-stretch, she froze and raised an eyebrow. She looked down, and saw she was not wearing clothes.

"_Aaah_!" Rukia shrieked, snatching the blanket up to cover her chest. She glanced around the room wildly. "What the hell?"She looked down at Ichigo next to her, and saw he was also naked. Rukia's eyes widened and her jaw slowly dropped. "NO!" She shrieked, falling off of the bed, dragging the blanket with her, leaving Ichigo asleep on the bed uncovered.

"What the hell..." Ichigo groaned sleepily, slowly beginning to awaken. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking around curiously, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"You...you..." Rukia managed to gasp out, staring at Ichigo with horrified eyes. Ichigo noticed her and looked over, doing a double take once he saw she was covered by nothing but his blanket.

"Rotwood?" He asked confusedly, eyes wide. "What the fuck are you... _what?_" He quickly stood up and Rukia screamed, throwing a pillow at him.

"Put some clothes on!" She shrieked, shutting her eyes tightly. Ichigo glanced down at himself and his eyes widened. He let out a yell and covered his privates with his hands.

"What the fuck?" Ichigo yelled. "Why are we naked?"

"I don't know!" Rukia wailed. She stood up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her tightly, and glared at Ichigo. "You!" She yelled, pointing at him. "You took advantage of me, didn't you?"

"What?" Ichigo gasped, eyes wide.

"I can't believe it!" Rukia cried, flopping onto the bed. "You... we... aaaah!" She hid her face in a pillow.

"We? We what!" Ichigo asked frantically. "Don't tell me we..." he trailed off, covering his mouth with a hand, but keeping the other hand in its spot. "I'm going to be sick."

"I can't believe I lost it to _you_." Rukia groaned, slamming her head into the pillow again and again.

"_I'm_ the one that can't believe I... oh God..." Ichigo complained.

"Aaah!" Rukia shrieked, sitting upright. She had forgotten about keeping the blanket up, so when she shot up, it fell down to her waist. Ichigo stared at her, wide-eyed, his face slowly turning a deep shade of red. "Stop it!" Rukia shrieked, quickly covering herself again. "You pervert!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Ichigo wailed. "Put some clothes on then!" He quickly tried to cover his blush, to no avail.

"I have bigger problems to worry about!" Rukia shrieked. "I'm still so young! What if you got me pregnant?" She gasped. Ichigo's eyes slowly widened.

"Oh fuck no." He said slowly. "No. No, no, no, _no_. _Never_. I'll _never_ have a kid with you."

"Well it's too late to decide that now, isn't it?" Rukia shrieked. "Oh... I hope it doesn't happen... _ugh_ I hate you so much!" Rukia shrieked, throwing another pillow at Ichigo's head. Ichigo quickly dodged it and rushed out of the room, grabbing a pair of pants along the way.

"I can't believe this..." Rukia groaned, getting up from the bed and quickly changing back into her clothes. "I can't believe we..." she trailed off, thinking of what had happened. She wasn't completely drunk, so she had faint memories of what they had done. Her cheeks went a bright shade of red. As she fixed her hair in Ichigo's mirror, she noticed a large red mark on her neck and her eyes widened. "_Asshole_." She gasped, running her fingers over it. Despite the fact that she was surprised and angry, Rukia couldn't help but smile slightly... but she'd never let Ichigo know she wasn't completely regretting it.

Oh, no. She'd make this fun.

* * *

"Are you done throwing stuff at me?" Ichigo asked angrily, hiding under his kitchen table. Rukia thought for a moment.

"Hm... nope!" She said, reaching for another apple to throw at Ichigo's head. Before she could chuck it at him, Ichigo had managed to rush over from his hiding spot and grab her from behind by her waist, making her shriek and drop the apple. "H-Hey!" She gasped as Ichigo chuckled and lifted her up, placing her on the kitchen counter and holding her arms down so she couldn't escape. He grinned as she frowned and attempted to wiggle out of his grasp.

"You better stop throwing stuff at me," Ichigo grinned, placing himself in the spot between Rukia's legs, so his face was even closer to hers. Rukia's eyes widened at Ichigo's daring behavior. "Or I'll never let you go."

"Asshole." Rukia stuck her tongue out at him, forcing herself to ignore Ichigo's suggestive actions.

"Shut up." Ichigo chuckled, never letting go of her hands. Slowly, he kissed Rukia. Rukia's eyes widened, but she slowly melted into the kiss.

After many moments, Ichigo finally broke away and grinned at her. Rukia's cheeks were red and her eyes were glazed over. "I knew you liked me." He smirked. Rukia gaped, the intensity of the situation completely vanishing.

"You're an asshole!" She gasped. "I do _not_ like you!"

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo grinned. "You're in denial!"

"I think _you're _in denial about liking me!"

"Yeah right! You're too short for me!"

"At least I'm not a Strawberry!"

"Shut up about that!"

Rukia rolled her eyes, smiling. She was going to think of a good insult, but something caught her eye and she blinked, sitting upright. "Strawberry..." she said slowly, heart beginning to pound. "...What are those?" She shakily gestured towards Ichigo's arms. There were violent red slashes scattered on both wrists... in the spots where Ichigo wore his black arm bands... no wonder she had never noticed them before. He must have had forgotten to put the bands back on after their argument when they woke up...

Ichigo followed Rukia's gaze and glanced down at his arms, eyes widening. He quickly hid his arms behind his back. "It's nothing," he muttered quickly. "It's from a bunch of fights, and when I get a bit rough with Renji or Serenity, you know..." He averted his eyes, swallowing deeply.

"Strawberry... let me see your arms." Rukia whispered. Ichigo looked at her, and shook his head.

"It's nothing." he insisted. "It's just from being rough."

"Those are too perfect of cuts to be just accidental." Rukia said quietly. "Please. Let me see your arms."

Ichigo shut his eyes tightly, and slowly removed his arms from behind his back, laying them on Rukia's lap. Rukia slowly reached out and grabbed his hand, turning it over to see the cuts. She drew in a shaky breath. Along Ichigo's arms, there were brand new cuts, slightly healed cuts, and scars. The scattered scars went so far up they reached his elbows. Some were shallow, but others were incredibly deep.

Rukia covered her mouth, staring at Ichigo's arm in awe. "St-Strawberry..." she gasped. "Why... why are you doing this to yourself?"

Ichigo quickly snatched his arm away from Rukia's grasp, hiding them against his chest. He never looked at her. "It helps." he mumbled, glancing down at the wooden floor.

"It helps with what?" Rukia demanded, still in shock that Ichigo would harm himself like that. Ichigo didn't answer. He simply continued to glance down at the floor, frowning deeply. "_With what_?" Rukia repeated.

"With the pain." Ichigo said, looking at her. Rukia felt chills creep up her spine.

"P-pain?" She asked quietly. Ichigo nodded, looking back down.

"Whenever I'm upset... it just helps. I don't know." he mumbled. Rukia closed her eyes tightly, realising where some of those cuts must have come from.

"Did you do that when Orihime and Yachiru died? Don't lie, Strawberry."

"...Some of them." Ichigo admitted.

"How about when we got back from Alcantara, after buying the wigs?"

"After the house incident, some of them..." Ichigo said slowly.

Rukia felt tears slide down her cheeks, through her shut eyes. "What are the most recent from?"

"... After Renji's funeral." Ichigo whispered. "Why does it matter?"

"So this is my fault, too?" Rukia asked herself, her voice thick with tears. Ichigo looked at her oddly.

"What?"

"All of those incidents were my fault..." Rukia whispered. "Meaning... since those happened... you hurt yourself. So it's my fault you hurt yourself, too." Her body began to shake. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Rotwood, that isn't true. I -"

"Stop it!" Rukia shrieked, clenching her fists. "It's all my fault! I knew it!"

"No it isn't!" Ichigo exclaimed. Rukia ignored him and jumped off of the counter, rushing out of the room. "Rotwood!" Ichigo yelled, getting up and following her. "Where the hell are you going?"

"I need to get out of here!" Rukia cried from another room. Ichigo quickly followed her voice, but no matter where he went, Rukia was nowhere in sight.

"Shit!" he whispered, rushing around the house. He checked in the living room, the kitchen, and upstairs. "Where the hell is she?" He continued to look around the house, rushing past the front door. Suddenly, he froze, and turned around. He peered through the front window. Rukia was sitting on the porch, drenched in rain. Ichigo sighed, shaking his head. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door. "Rotwood?" he asked curiously, peering outside the door. "What are you doing out here?"

Rukia didn't respond. Ichigo hesitated.

"... The cuts on my arms... they aren't your fault. Okay? It's my own stupid habit. Starting right now... let's forget I even have them, okay?"

Rukia still did not speak. Ichigo huffed.

"You're going to catch a cold, come inside." He said lightly. Rukia continued to remain quiet. After a few more moments of silence, she resonded quietly.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." She wrapped her arms tighter around herself as an attempt to keep warm.

"Rotwood, you're – _what_?" Ichigo's eyes widened.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Rukia repeated. "I'm leaving Blue Note."

"... But why?" Ichigo whispered, confused.

"I told you." Rukia sniffed. She was trying to hold back her tears. "If one more thing happened because of me... I'd leave."

"Rotwood, don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault that -"

"Cut the crap!" Rukia screamed, whirling around to face him. Her eyes were watery. "It's my fault and you know it!"

"No it isn't! Stop fucking blaming yourself!" Ichigo roared, stepping outside and slamming the door shut behind him. He clenched his fists. "Renji died because it was _his_ decision to fight Halibel, okay? It wasn't your fault! And Orihime -"

"Please, Strawberry... Stop it. If you were me, you know you would be thinking the same thing. Please. It would make me feel better if you hated me." Tears began to fall down Rukia's face as her voice grew thick with tears. She shakily stood up and faced Ichigo.

"Come on!" She urged. "Yell at me! Hit me! Kick me out, anything! I don't deserve to stay here!"

"I'm not doing anything to you!" Ichigo said angrily. "Please, stop it! I'm not mad at you at all! I don't hate you, and I don't blame you for anything."

"I'm really sorry, Strawberry... for everything I've done. I'm leaving tomorrow, whether you like it or not." Rukia looked down, wiping her eyes. "It's for the best."

"No you aren't!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing Rukia's shoulders and bending so he was eye level with her. He stared into her eyes intensely. "I'm not letting you leave. I'll die before I let Byakuya have a chance of getting you back."

Rukia stared into his determined eyes, and began to cry again. She covered her face with a hand as she begun to sob. "Why are you acting like this?" She cried. "You're a criminal! You're supposed to be rude and mean, so stop being so nice to me!" She looked up into his eyes once again. "Why?"

"_Stop it_!" Ichigo roared loudly. Rukia was taken aback, her eyes wide. Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "For the hundredth time, Rotwood... it's _not_ your fault. _Nothing_ is your fault. You aren't leaving tomorrow, and we're going to sort this all out in the morning. Okay? Now come inside before you get sick."

Ichigo wrapped an arm around Rukia's waist and led her inside. Thankfully, she did not protest, for crying so much had made her exhausted. She began to sniffle, feeling a cold coming on. Ichigo's arm dropped to his side and he looked at her seriously. "Rotwood, listen to me. I don't blame you for a single thing that happened. Don't ever forget that. You did nothing wrong."

Rukia swallowed. "Strawberry, I -" Rukia was cut off when Ichigo grabbed her and hugged her tightly. Rukia's eyes widened as she was pressed against his chest, but she slowly closed her eyes, relaxing into the hug.

"I already told you to stop." Ichigo mumbled against her hair. "No one wants to feel like everything is their fault."

"Why?" Rukia sniffed, shutting her eyes tightly. "Why are you such a good person, Strawberry?" She choked on her sentence, beginning to cry again.

"I'm not," Ichigo sighed, playing with her hair as she cried into his chest. "You're just too nice of a person and way too innocent for a life like this, Rotwood. I don't want to ruin your chances at living normally. That's why you can't be so hard on yourself... you'll never be happy if you act like that."

"Thank you..." Rukia whispered, slowly breaking apart from Ichigo. "Thank you so much...I'm still so sorry..."

"Don't worry about it, Rotwood." Ichigo smiled lightly, ruffling her hair. "Come on, you need to get some sleep."

* * *

**Awww, that scene was so sad to write! ;o; I hope you guys enjoyed it! Haha. **

**Anyway, I've gotta get studying so I'm keeping this very brief! Please review, I would appreciate it so much! **


	16. If I Die Tomorrow

**Hey guys! I'm home sick today... and what else to do but update? Haha. Well, I think I should start updating regularly once again, seeing as how there isn't too many chapters left... then again, it would make sense to drag it out, wouldn't it? Aaah I don't want this to end! :( I had so much fun writing this! Before I get all mushy, let's continue...**

_**Disclaimer:**__I do not own Bleach ;o;  
__**Warnings**__**: **__Bad writing, language, fluff, and... that's it, actually! Woah! Probably the cleanest chapter in a while. LOL._

* * *

_**Chapter 15 – If I Die Tomorrow**_(Motley Crue)

Ichigo let out a sigh. He glanced towards his window, watching the rain splash against it as the lightning illuminated the dark bedroom. Unconsciously, his grip around Rukia tightened.

Ichigo had managed to convince Rukia to sleep with him in his bedroom. Thankfully, she had calmed down after their little argument earlier, and for the remainder of the day they had simply stayed in his bed, only occasionally getting up. Currently it was night time, and they were resting in his bed, Rukia drifting off to sleep while Ichigo had an arm wrapped around her.

Rukia let out a relaxed sigh and slowly broke away from Ichigo and sitting up straight. Ichigo blinked and also sat up, leaning against the headboard. "What's wrong, Rotwood?"

"Nothing..." Rukia said drowsily. "I'm just not ready to fall asleep yet..."

"But you're tired," Ichigo chuckled. "C'mon, sleep." Rukia shook her head and flattened her hair out. She sighed and copied Ichigo's actions, also leaning against his headboard.

They remained silent for many moments. Eventually, Rukia looked over at Ichigo, who looked deep in thought, and bit her lip. "Strawberry?" She said quietly. Ichigo looked over at her curiously. Rukia sighed before continuing.

"...Have you ever thought about... dying?" Rukia asked him hesitantly. Ichigo frowned in thought, but then nodded.

"Yeah, I have... a lot, actually." He shifted around and went back into a laying position, resting his head on his pillow.

"What do you think about?" Rukia asked. "Are you afraid?"

Ichigo chuckled. "I'm more worried than afraid."

Rukia blinked. "What do you mean?"

Ichigo sighed. "Well, the way I think about it... I want to make sure I'm smiling when I die. I'm worried that I won't be able to smile when I die."

Rukia looked at him oddly. She clutched the edge of the blanket. Had he gone crazy...? "What does ... _smiling_ have to do with death?"

Ichigo looked at her and laughed. "I don't mean I want to smile because I'd be dying... I want to smile as I'm dying, because if I can, that means I've done everything I want to do in life. It's a weird way of thinking, but my dad kinda told me to. I don't exactly smile every second of my life, you know that." Rukia nodded, listening intently. "So I figured... if I can make myself smile, a _real_ smile, before I die... then I did good in life, right? I'd have done everything I wanted to do, with no regrets."

"Wow..." Rukia whispered. "That's really... deep..."

"I think it's cheesy," Ichigo shrugged. "But I really like the idea of it."

"It's not cheesy at all." Rukia said quietly. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "... If you were to die right now, would you smile?"

Ichigo smiled lightly. "I'd have to think about that." He paused, looking up at his ceiling. "Anyway, good night, Rotwood. Try and sleep."

Rukia sighed and nodded, smiling lightly. Ichigo attempted to get into a comfortable position, and Rukia watched him, biting her lip nervously. "S-Strawberry," she called out. Ichigo froze and looked at her curiously. Quickly, Rukia leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "G-Good night." She muttered, turning her body so her back was facing Ichigo, hiding her bright red face. Ichigo blinked dumbly, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"G-Good night..." he said slowly. He rested his head on a pillow, and a smile slowly formed on his face as the two drifted to sleep. 

* * *

"_Move it, brat!" _

_Ichigo growled as he was shoved forward, the water in his bucket splashing out and landing on his feet. _

"_Now look what you did." The large man teased. He grabbed the bucket from Ichigo and poured it out on the ground in front of the young boy. "Go fill it again." He shoved the bucket against Ichigo's chest. Ichigo quickly grabbed it and frowned, heading back to the well. _

"_Mom, can you fill it up again?" Ichigo sighed once he returned. His mother sighed sadly. _

"_Oh, Ichigo... you have to be more careful!" She quickly grabbed the bucket and filled it in the well. She then headed back to her son and knelt down in front of him, cleaning the dirt off of his cheeks. _

"_Mom, I'm fine." Ichigo mumbled, swatting her hands away. Masaki let out another sigh and looked at her son's face. _

"_I'm so sorry you have to do this, Ichigo... but your father and I can't find another job, after what happened last time..."_

"_I'm fine with it, mom!" Ichigo put a large grin on his face, doing a thumbs-up. "I'm helping you guys make money!"_

_Masaki grinned widely at her son's enthusiasm, despite their working conditions. "Thank you, Ichigo... now hurry, before Mr. Kuchiki's grandfather gets angry."_

_Ichigo nodded and gave his mother a quick hug before rushing back with his full bucket. _

"_How is Ichigo doing?" Isshin walked outside of their small house, wiping his hands on a cloth. Masaki stood up and her husband gave her a quick kiss. _

"_Not so good," she sighed. "I know he hates it... he shouldn't even have to do this, Isshin. He's only eight." _

"_I know, Masaki." Isshin sighed. "I _will_ find us better work... I promise. One day..." He trailed off. Masaki smiled and hugged him._

"_Ichigo is strong... I think he can hold on for a little bit longer... just until we find something better..."_

"_I'm finished my work for today!" Ichigo announced cheerfully, many hours later, to the eldest Kuchiki – his boss. The old man looked at him unhappily and nodded, swatting him away. _

"_Leave, and come back tomorrow." He said. Ichigo gaped. _

"_B-but... what about the pay!" Ichigo demanded. "Me and my parents worked all day!"_

"_I will include it in tomorrow's pay." The elder man said. "Now leave."_

_Ichigo growled and clenched his fists, storming away from the Kuchiki manor. He sat down at the riverbank many feet away from the house and stuck his feet in, frowning deeply. His family would go without food once again, tonight..._

_The elder Kuchiki's son glanced outside of his manor's window curiously, noticing Ichigo. He sighed. "Old man must've not paid him again..." He moved away from the window and glanced around the large kitchen. "Byakuya?" He called out, searching for his son. "Byakuya!"_

_His son, who was nearly a spitting image of himself, walked into the room tiredly. "Yes, father?"_

"_Where is your sister?"_

"_She's with grandmother in her room."_

"_Can you bring her down here for me?" _

_Byakuya nodded, heading up the stairs to retrieve his six year old sister. Moments later, a hyper child bounced down the stairs. _

"_Yes, daddy?" She said cheerfully, clinging to his leg, looking up at him with her large violet eyes. Her father grinned at her. He knelt so they were eye-level._

"_Rukia, I need you to go on a mission for me. Top secret." He said playfully, glancing around suspiciously. Rukia's large eyes grew even larger. _

"_A mission?" She gasped. "Lemme do it!" She bounced up and down happily. Her father grinned and stood up, grabbing a large basket of fruits and vegetables – specially picked from their garden - from the kitchen table. He handed it to Rukia and lifted her up so she could look out the window._

"_Do you see that little boy at the river?"_

"_With the carrot hair?" Rukia asked curiously. Her father nodded and put her down. _

"_Sneak over to him and give him this basket, okay?"_

"_Okay!" Rukia grinned widely, rushing out of the house. She glanced around, making sure her grandfather or his workers were not around, and headed for the young boy. _

"_Heyyy!" She exclaimed happily as she reached him. Ichigo turned his head around and looked at her curiously. His eyes widened and he stood up, slowly backing away. Rukia pouted. "Why are you moving away?"_

"_You're a Kuchiki!" Ichigo gasped. "What do you want?"_

"_Relax!" Rukia sighed. "I'm on a mission for my daddy! Here!" She held out her hand that was holding the basket. Ichigo looked at it and his eyes widened hungrily. He had not eaten for so long... _

"_Take it!" Rukia said happily. "It's for you!" _

"_Really?" Ichigo gasped, grabbing the basket from her carefully, not wanting to drop it. "Thanks!" He grinned widely. Rukia returned his grin._

"_No problem! Bye, berry-head!" She gave him a quick hug around the basket, and rushed back to her house. Ichigo blinked at the strange girl, but headed home quickly, excited to show his parents the basket.  
_

__

Ichigo gasped, his eyes snapping open. He glanced around the room wildly, and noticed he was in his bed. It was still night time, and it was still raining. He looked at the spot next to him, and saw Rukia sleeping peacefully. He smiled widely.

"So I knew you even back then..." he whispered, moving a strand of hair out of her face.

Yes, he remembered now. When his family worked for the Kuchiki's... he had completely forgotten... he had forgotten _everything_ before his parents died... but now he remembered. They had worked long, grueling hours, and rarely were paid regularly. His family had gone hungry for weeks at a time... until Rukia started bringing them food. On days they were not paid, Rukia's father sent his daughter to bring them food.

Rukia and him had become slight friends... although they argued and fought more than they were friends. It was all playful, though, and they enjoyed each other's company... while it lasted.

"I can't believe this." Ichigo whispered, unable to remove the smile from his face. He looked back at Rukia. "I can't believe I forgot you..."

* * *

**Aha! Weren't expecting that, were you? ... Neither was I. This chapter, actually, was made up on the spot... I had **_**nothing**_** planned for it except for mindless fluff, and as I continued to write... bam! It just poured out! LOL! I hope it was alright though! Sorry about all the italics... I just wanted to show it was a flashback. Hehe.**

**Guys... there's only 3-2 chapters left :( :( :( AAAAH! I don't want this to finish! Thankfully, I have another story coming up! Well... hopefully. It is a **_**very**_** dark story, but I feel like I should write it...We'll all see what happens! Maybe I'll even have a preview of it soon enough!**

**Bye guys! I love you all! Please review!**


	17. For The Nights I Can't Remember

**Sorry about the delay, guys! It's been quite a while since I updated... huh. Sorry about that! Well, here I am again updating! Finally!  
Umm, I'll try and keep this short... I just wanna say thanks to everyone who's been reviewing and supporting! This story's almost over... and it makes me sad, but I'm glad you all liked it! All of your reviews are what keep me going! :D**

_**Disclaimer:**__I don't own Bleach. :(  
__**Warnings**__: __Actually, none! Maybe some swearing and fluff but that's it! WOW! And this is also a very short chapter... sorry about that!_

* * *

_**Chapter 16 – For The Nights I Can't Remember**_ (Hedley)

"We're out of food." Ichigo sighed, glancing around his kitchen. Rukia sighed from her spot at the kitchen table, clutching her growling stomach. Ichigo glanced over at her and laughed. "It's alright, I'll go out and buy some."

"No, you don't have to!" Rukia said quickly, waving her hands. "I can deal with it!"

"Relax, I'm hungry too." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Don't think I was getting food for _you_, Rotwood." He teased. Rukia glared at him.

"Stupid Strawberry." She muttered, glancing down at the wooden table and tracing an invisible pattern in the wood with her finger. Ever since their ... night together, Rukia could feel herself slowly growing closer to Ichigo. There had been multiple times she'd accidentally almost called him "Ichigo," but she always caught herself before it slipped out. She felt as if "Strawberry" wasn't friendly enough, strangely. Rather than their usual pointless fights, Ichigo and Rukia had been quite kind to each other, and spent quite some time flirting with each other, without even realizing it.

_'What's happening to us...?'_ Rukia thought to herself, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she thought of Ichigo's new behavior towards her – it was much more... intimate. He smiled at her quite often now. Not that she minded... his smile made her grow warm and her head spin. There was something about it...

"Yo, Rotwood," Ichigo's voice interrupted Rukia's thoughts. Her head shot up and she looked at him, blinking. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yeah?" Rukia asked quickly, cheeks turning red. Ichigo smirked.

"I was asking you, what do you want?"

"O-Oh... Anything is fine with me!" Rukia smiled lightly. "Whatever you want."

"Well... I'll go see the butcher and see what he has." Ichigo shrugged. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Rukia nodded, saying goodbye to Ichigo as he stepped into his boots and grabbed his hat. "Bye." Ichigo said, opening the front door. Suddenly, Rukia felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach... like she should say goodbye to Ichigo more... properly.

"Wait!" Rukia said loudly, hopping out of the chair. Ichigo turned around and looked at her curiously, only to see her rush up to him and hug him tightly. Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked down at Rukia, who had her face pressed into his chest as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He smiled widely and hugged her back.

"Don't worry, Rotwood." he chuckled. "I'll be back in an hour."

"I know," Rukia mumbled against his chest, cheeks red. "I just felt like I should give you a hug." Slowly, she broke apart from Ichigo and averted her eyes, rubbing the back of her head. Ichigo chuckled and patted her on the back.

"I'll see you soon." Ichigo smiled widely at her, and Rukia smiled back lightly as he headed outside onto the porch, shutting the door behind him lightly.

Rukia sighed and headed upstairs, shaking her head. Why had she done that to Ichigo? It was strange... she felt as if she needed to give him a proper farewell... but why?

"I've gotta get a hold of myself," Rukia muttered to herself as she reached her room. Why was she acting like this around that stupid berry head? She was supposed to hate him! He kidnapped her!

Rukia sighed, opening her window and stepping outside onto it carefully. She manuevered herself across the roof until she reached her usual sitting spot. She sat down cautiously and gazed at her surroundings. She watched the people below her walk around, and she saw Serenity eating some hay Ichigo had left out for her.

"What do I really think of Strawberry?" Rukia whispered to herself, bringing her legs up to her chest and hugging her knees. Whenever she was around Ichigo... she felt happy. She felt as if she was on top of the world. Although she did get into arguments with him, she really didn't mind... as long as she was around him, she was content. Whenever he kissed her or acted intimately with her, Rukia could feel her heart pound and it was as if nothing else mattered. Her head would spin and she felt dizzy.

"I think I'm in love..." Rukia whispered, gazing up at the sky. She paused for a moment, and then groaned, hiding her head in her hands. "I'm in so much trouble!"

"Yes, you are." A voice behind Rukia said. Rukia perked up, realizing Ichigo was home.

"Strawberry!" She said, whirling around to the window. "You're back alre..." Rukia trailed off, eyes widening as she saw who was staring at her through the window. She began to shake violently, clenching her hands into fists. "Ni-Nii...sama..."

* * *

"Damn Kenpachi..." Ichigo grumbled as he headed home, carrying a bag of meat. "Raising the damn prices... who does he think he is? Some of us have to work for that money." he scoffed, obviously not realizing he didn't exactly work for _his_ money... unless you counted stealing as work, that is.

He sighed, swinging the bag back and forth against his side, humming to himself as he walked down the road to his house. Suddenly, he noticed something squirming around in a bush. Ichigo blinked and headed towards the bush, falling to his knees and dropping the bag to the ground. He pushed the branches apart and saw a small white rabbit muching on a twig. Ichigo's eyes widened, then he slowly grinned. Perfect!

Slowly and skillfully, Ichigo reached for the rabbit and began to pet its head lightly. The rabit froze, then grew warm towards Ichigo, accepting the treatment. Ichigo grinned and slowly brought his other hand underneath the rabbit, picking it up. The rabbit squirmed for a moment, but realized Ichigo meant no harm and calmed down as Ichigo rested the bunny against his chest carefully, grabbing his bag and standing up once again. He carefully balanced the rabbit in one hand, and the bag of meat in the other, and began to walk towards his home, grinning.

"Rotwood will love this..." Ichigo said to himself happily. Ichigo thought of Rukia's reaction to the rabbit, and smiled widely. Slowly, his thoughts drifted to Rukia's actions towards him lately.

She had become more timid and kind... Ichigo wondered why. He didn't mind at all – he enjoyed Rukia's kindness towards him. Especially all of the affection she had been giving him, like the constant hugs. Ichigo thought of the hugs Rukia had given him and couldn't help but smile... she made him feel so... happy.

He hadn't remembered smiling this much in a long, long time... He had never opened up to anyone as much as he had to Rukia, either. There was something so... different, about her. He loved it. Then, Ichigo thought of the question Rukia had asked him the previous night...

"Would I be able to smile if I died right now?" Ichigo asked himself quietly, thinking of Rukia's question. He thought deeply about it. Through all of his memories, one stood out. Meeting Rukia. Ichigo remembered that day, and smiled widely. He thought of their adventures together, and their awkward moments. "... Yeah, I think I would."

Slowly, he brought the hand holding the bag of meat to his cheek, remembering the kiss Rukia had given him last night. He grinned dumbly, then he quickly caught himself before he could continue and wiped the smile off of his face before somebody saw. He quickly pulled his hand down from his cheek, clenching it into a fist, his cheeks turning red.

Boy, love could do strange things to him...

* * *

"Rotwood!" Ichigo called out once he arrived home. He was excited to show Rukia the rabbit. He dropped the bag of meat onto a table and headed upstairs with the rabbit, who was asleep against his chest. "Hey, Rotwood!" Ichigo yelled, glancing around. He frowned. He headed into Rukia's room and looked around. She wasn't there. Ichigo sighed. "She must be on the roof..."

Ichigo carefully placed the drowsy rabbit onto Rukia's bed, and it quickly snuggled into the blankets, falling back asleep. He headed towards the window and looked outside. Rukia wasn't there. Ichigo slowly began to worry... where was Rukia?

"She could be at Rangiku's..." he said quickly, trying to calm himself down. He glanced around her room, and found nothing. Suddenly, he heard small crunching noises. He glanced towards the bed and saw the rabbit nibbling on a piece of paper. Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly reached for it, grabbing it from the rabbit's mouth. Thankfully, none of the writing had been torn off – just the corner.

Ichigo quickly read the note. Once he was finished, his eyes widened slowly and he dropped the paper. Everything suddenly grew hot and he felt dizzy. He felt as if he was going to throw up. "Fuck..." he whispered. "No... he couldn't have..."

Ichigo shut his eyes tightly, breathing in deeply. He clenched his fists, opened his eyes, and ran out of Rukia's room and down the stairs, grabbing his guns along the way.

...

_Kurosaki,_

_I took my sister. You should have kept a closer eye on her. Too bad. It looks like you wont be getting the money you asked for. If you follow, I will kill you._

_Byakuya._

* * *

**Noo! Stupid Byakuya! XD hehe. What did you guys think? Please review!**

**By the way... I wanted to ask a quick question! I (finally!) went to a piercing studio two days ago, and I got my cartilage pierced! I love it, but it's kinda making me worry! I'm supposed to be twisting it three times a day, three times each way... but it hurts way too much to do that! The bleeding and such has stopped, but it hurts so bad if I touch it or try and twist it! I have been cleaning it... but I don't think that's enough! Does anyone know what I should do? Hehe. Thank you! Love you all!**


	18. Amazed

**Alright! Hey! It's me again! Oh man, I KNOW it's been ages... and you guys have no idea how sorry I am. I had a ridiculous bout of laziness, and **_**never**_** posted this chapter even though it was well over half finished. I also didn't post it because it was supposed to be the final chapter, and I was not looking forward to this ending...haha. And THEN my laptop decided to break on me so I had to save up money to fix it which took quite a while... but I'm back now! To make up for my long absence, I'm extending this story for one more chapter instead of ending it so suddenly after such a long time of inactivity... I hope this makes up for the insanely long wait :( **

_**Disclaimer**__: __I do not own Bleach.  
__**Warnings:**__ Fluff, bad writing, swearing, violence_

* * *

_**Chapter 17 – Amazed**_ (Lonestar)

"_Rukia's gone!_"

Rangiku shrieked, shooting up from her chair. Ichigo nodded grimly from his seat across from Rangiku. They were sitting in Rangiku's living room. Ichigo had come over to discuss what had happened earlier that day. He sighed deeply before continuing.

"Byakuya took her while I was gone." Ichigo said. "I need to go bring her back... but I can't do it alone."

Rangiku slowly sat back down in her chair, nodding slowly as she understood what Ichigo was about to ask. Ichigo looked up at her. "Rangiku, I know... you may not be up to it... but I'm begging you."

Rangiku gave him a weak smile. "I wouldn't say no, Ichigo... She means a lot to me too...and you know she did to Renji, too." Rangiku swallowed, shutting her eyes before continuing. "I'll help you." She opened her eyes and looked at her friend. Ichigo sighed in relief and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Rangiku." Ichigo and Rangiku stood up, and Ichigo gave her a tight hug. Rangiku smiled lightly, hugging him and rubbing her young friend's back.

"You really love her, don't you..." Rangiku said quietly. Ichigo shut his eyes, burying his face into Rangiku's hair. He felt tears prick the corner of his eyes, and he didn't want Rangiku to see. Why was he getting so emotional? Why did Rukia have this effect on him?

"Yeah..." he whispered, voice slightly cracking. "I do."

"Well that settles it," Rangiku said, breaking away from Ichigo. She looked at him, determined. "We'll leave tonight. Get packing, buddy."

* * *

"Strawberry..." Rukia whispered, glancing out her window sadly. She let out a deep sigh and moved away from the window, flopping backwards onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling. "I miss him already..." It had only been a day since Byakuya had taken her home.

She found it funny how she had continuously demanded she should leave Blue Note, but now that she was finally gone... she wanted to go back. She hated being in Karakura. She hated being with Byakuya. She hated being in her home. All she wanted was to stay with Ichigo in _his_ home.

"Miss Rukia, I'm coming in!" A cheerful voice came from the other side of her bedroom door as there was a light knock on the expensive wood. Rukia glanced towards the door and sighed.

"Go ahead!" She said loudly. The doorknob slowly turned and the door opened. A short, young boy shuffled into the room, carrying a tray of food. He grinned once he saw Rukia on her bed and carefully rushed over, holding the tray out to her.

"Your lunch, Miss Rukia!" He squeaked happily. "I'm so glad to see you again!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Hanataro." Rukia smiled, gratefully taking the tray from her best friend of ten years. "It's been a while."

Hanataro nodded, smiling widely. "I didn't know if you would ever come back..." he mumbled, looking down. Rukia saw his uneasiness and smiled, lightly placing the tray on her bed and standing up. She wrapped her arms around Hanataro and gave him a warm hug. Hanataro was surprised, but smiled, hugging Rukia back.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Hana." Rukia whispered, shutting her eyes. "I don't want to be here... but I still want to see you. It's such a hard decision to make."

"You want to leave?" Hanataro broke away from Rukia, looking at her curiously. "After what happened... after you were kidnapped! You'd want to leave after that?"

Rukia looked down, smiling lightly as she thought of Ichigo. "Well... my ... kidnapping, wasn't exactly bad, Hana... I met someone really amazing..."

"Oh, like a friend?" Hanataro chirped. "Did they keep you company?"

"Well, I guess I think of them as more than a friend..." Rukia mumbled, cheeks turning slightly pink. Hanataro's eyes widened.

"So you mean... a _boy_?" he asked excitedly. "That's great, Miss Rukia! I was so worried you wouldn't find anyone after..." he trailed off. He quickly shook his head. "I want to hear more about the person you met!"

"...Hana, you can't tell anyone." Rukia said, looking at him seriously. Hanataro blinked, nodding. "Well... I fell in love with the man who kidnapped me..." she whispered.

Hanataro's eyes grew even wider. "Miss Rukia!" He gasped. "... Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"I know, I know..." Rukia sighed, looking at Hanataro helplessly. "It just happened!"

"Wow..." Hanataro whispered. "What are the chances?"

"I don't know." Rukia shrugged. "It's just... after one night we just... I don't know! I just... realized my feelings for him... and I don't know what to do. I miss him so much, Hana." Rukia said sadly.

Hanataro blinked. "...One...night? Miss Rukia, what did you do!"

Rukia's eyes widened. "N-nothing! Forget I said that!"

"You two did ... _it_!" Hanataro gasped, pointing a finger at Rukia. "Oh no... Byakuya will murder someone if he finds out his little sister is impure before marriage!" He wailed, tugging at the ends of his hair, looking up at the ceiling.

"HANA!" Rukia shrieked, covering Hanataro's mouth. "Stop yelling! Byakuya _isn't_ going to find out! So stop being so loud!"

"Sorry, Miss Rukia." Hanataro gasped once Rukia let go of his mouth. "I just can't believe..." he grew nauseated at the thought of Byakuya's reaction if he were to find out.

"Hanataro!" A loud voice came from downstairs and Hanataro and Rukia jumped. Their eyes widened as they looked at each other. "HANATARO!" The voice came again.

"I-I have to go... I'll see you later, Miss Rukia." Hanataro said quickly, waving goodbye to Rukia and rushing out of her room. Rukia sighed as she watched her friend leave. Was it a mistake to tell Hanataro?

"No... he won't say anything." Rukia said to herself as she sat back onto her bed, placing the tray on the floor. She wasn't very hungry.

* * *

"Making me spend the whole day doing chores," Hanataro mumbled grumpily as he stacked boxes on top of one another. "As if I have nothing better to do!"

Byakuya had ordered Hanataro to do many tasks in and out of the house today. He was in a very bad mood, which always resulted in Hanataro's chores being doubled. Currently, Hanataro was moving boxes from the storage building into the alley next to the Kuchiki Manor. "I wonder what's in these boxes..." he muttered, heaving yet another box onto a stack he had created in the alley. "They weigh so much..."

As Hanataro was about to retrieve another box, he heard the crunching of stones and a clinking of metal. He gasped and his head shot up, looking around. No one was around. He sighed, looking back down at the boxes. Then, he heard the loading of a gun. He stood straight and looked around wildly, clutching the hem of his shirt. "Wh-who's there!" He called out nervously.

"Who are you?" Hanataro heard a voice from up on the roof of the house next to the manor. His eyes widened and he tried to spot the figure, to no avail.

"H-Hanataro Yamada..." the young boy called out. "Who are you?"

"Do you work for Byakuya?" The voice came again.

"Y-Yes..." Hanataro said nervously. "Can you please tell me who you a-_aaaah!_" Hanataro wailed as _two_ figures jumped down from the roof, right in front of him. He cried and fell backwards, hitting a box. The two people were wearing long coats and hats that covered a majority of their faces. The male held out his gun, pointing it at Hanataro's face. Hanataro's eyes widened as it was aimed between his eyes. "P-please, don't shoot me!" He yelled, shutting his eyes tightly. "I-I just work here... doing chores!"

"Will you help us, then?" The man asked. Hanataro blinked.

"W-with what? I'll do anything as long as you don't kill me!" He was shaking uncontrollably now. Who was this man?

The man stayed still, as if he were deciding what to do. He sighed, lowering his gun. Hanataro sighed in relief, and the man and woman took their hats off. Hanataro's eyes widened once he saw who the man was.

"K-K-Kurosaki Ichigo!" Hanataro gasped. Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly lifted his gun to Hanataro's face again. Hanataro cried out and shut his eyes.

"No I – I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I was just surprised!" Hanataro cried. Ichigo scowled, examining Hanataro. He looked harmless enough, so he lowered his gun once again, but he still did not trust the timid worker.

"Rangiku, get the rope." Ichigo said. Rangiku nodded and shuffled through the pocket of the coat. Hanataro's eyes widened.

"W-wait let me finish!" Hanataro yelled, but Ichigo and Rangiku ignored him and grabbed Hanataro's arms, attempting to tie him up. "Stop! Stop it!" Ichigo did not stop. "How the hell does Miss Rukia talk so highly about someone as mean as you?" Hanataro wailed, trying to wrench himself out of Ichigo's grasp. Ichigo froze. He looked up at Hanataro's face.

"What did you say?"

"Miss Rukia!" Hanataro exclaimed. "She talks about you as if you're such a good person! I guess she was wrong! I didn't do anything to you!"

"You...she talks to you?" Ichigo asked, letting go of Hanataro. Rangiku blinked, removing the rope from around Hanataro's wrist.

"We're really good friends." Hanataro mumbled, rubbing his wrist. "She told me a little bit about you."

"O-oh..." Rangiku blinked. Ichigo sighed.

"Sorry..." he mumbled. "How was I supposed to know, anyway..."

"Second window from the bottom, just over there. With the yellow curtains." Hanataro sighed, smiling lightly, pointing to the right side of the manor. Ichigo and Rangiku blinked.

"What?"

"That's Miss Rukia's room. Byakuya isn't home, but I don't know when he will be. He left about an hour ago, but he could come back in the next ten minutes, even, so you'll have to hurry. There's a lot of people inside so you'll have to go in from outside."

Ichigo gaped at the information this boy was giving him. "Why are you...?"

"Miss Rukia looks unhappy here." Hanataro said. "Go make her smile again."

* * *

'_...Kurosaki had also demolished the Yamamoto Manor, only moments after escaping from jail with his allies who a-'_

Rukia sighed, clicking the radio off. She had attempted to listen to the radio to get her mind off of Ichigo, but of course he happened to be the single topic of every channel. She groaned, flopping onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling. This was _torture_. She wasn't allowed to leave her room and she was slowly going crazy.

"Stupid Byakuya... I'm leaving as soon as I'm allowed out of this damn room." Rukia glanced towards her window. Jumping out the window didn't seem like a bad idea...

Rukia began to devise a plan, in which she could escape through her bedroom window without getting caught... but how would she travel to Ichigo's house...?

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted when there was a loud slam against her window. Her eyes widened and she sat straight, staring at the window. The slam came again. "What the hell...?" She gasped, backing up against her headboard. She heard something metal contact with her window frame and someone or some_thing_ fiddling with the lock.

Rukia clenched her fists into her bedsheets tightly, terrified. What was going on...? She slowly slid off of her bed, heading towards her window hesitantly. She slowly reached a shaking hand out towards the curtains. Before she could pull them back, she heard a yell and suddenly a figure was sent crashing through her window.

"W-woah!" the person exclaimed, tumbling onto Rukia's floor. Rukia shrieked and fell backwards, landing on her behind. She looked up at the person, and her eyes slowly widened. The person stood up, brushing themselves off, and looked at Rukia and gave her a large grin. "Yo."

"St-Strawberry!" Rukia shrieked, scrambling to her feet. She ran over to Ichigo and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You actually came!" She hid her face in his chest, unable to contain her happiness. Ichigo grinned and hugged her back.

"Obviously! You think I'd give up that easily!" He chuckled. "Rangiku came too. She's keeping guard." Rukia looked up at Ichigo, surprised.

"Rangiku came...?" she asked quietly. "Is she okay?"

Ichigo sighed. "She's not... she's definitely not. But she's holding up, just for you."

"Oh..." Rukia said, looking down. She broke apart from Ichigo. "How did you guys get in here without getting caught, anyway?"

"Well, we _did_ get caught." Ichigo laughed. "Luckily, it was your friend who caught us. Short, black hair, real shy..."

"Hanataro!" Rukia gasped. "He helped you?"

"Apparently you've been talking very good about me." Ichigo smirked and Rukia averted her eyes, turning red. Ichigo looked at her and smiled. He blinked and thought for a moment. '_Right now seems like a good time...I'm going to do _it...' he thought to himself. "Hey, Rotwood..."

"Yeah?" Rukia asked. Ichigo hesitated, but took in a deep breath and continued.

"...I need to tell you something." he said slowly. Rukia looked at him curiously.

"What is it, Strawberry?" Had something happened?

"Well..." Ichigo started, rubbing the back of his head nervously. How would he say it? "I uh... I've known you for a while now..."

"Yeah..." Rukia said slowly. What was he trying to say?

"And well, you see... I mean I... I think I ... no, I _do_..." Ichigo stuttered. What was wrong with him? Rukia raised an eyebrow. "Fuck it," Ichigo sighed. He took in a deep breath and stared into Rukia's eyes. "I love you."

Rukia felt as if her heart had skipped a beat. Did he just say...?

"What?" Rukia whispered. Ichigo sighed again, cheeks flaming.

"I love you..." Ichigo repeated quietly. "I... I dunno," Ichigo rubbed the back of his head and looking down at his shoes. He had to calm down. He was making a fool out of himself. "But I just... I ... I really do love you, Rukia." he exhaled deeply.

"Ah..." Rukia couldn't form words. She was so shocked. Ichigo hesitated, but wrapped his arms around Rukia's small frame slowly, pulling her against him gently. Rukia rested her head against his chest, Ichigo burying his face in her hair.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same..." Ichigo said softly. "I just had to say it... I couldn't hold it in any longer... I-"

"I love you too." Rukia interrupted. Ichigo froze and Rukia's face flushed. "I have... for a while..." She looked up at him, smiling lightly. Ichigo smiled back, relief showing on his face. They continued to stand there, hugging. Rukia sighed contentedly and broke away from Ichigo. She looked up at him and smiled.

"You know..." she said slowly. Ichigo blinked. "You called me Rukia."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but closed it soon after, unable to form words. Rukia grinned. Ichigo smiled back.

"Whatever," he scoffed. "You'll call me by my name now, right?"

"Nope!"

"What?" Ichigo frowned. "Come on!"

Rukia quickly stood on her tip-toes and gave Ichigo a sweet kiss, rendering him speechless. "Love you, Strawberry."

"I...ah..." Ichigo couldn't form words. He stood there, dumbfounded. Rukia grinned brightly.

"I love you," she repeated. "_Ichigo_.

* * *

**Oh boy, I really hope that was worth the ridiculously long wait... It's been OVER six months, isn't that just insane? Jeez, I need to work on that... It's kinda funny, because last time I posted I was having problems with my cartilage piercing, and now, during mm next post, I'm having problems with my tragus – but the cartilage has healed wonderfully and I now have a cute little diamond in it. Haha. I got my tragus pierced in the summer, and that dreaded bump has appeared! Does anyone have any suggestions that I could use that will make it go away? Gah! It's so annoying... it doesn't hurt or anything, but it's just... I'd rather not have it there... haha. **

**Watch, I'll probably have another ridiculous disappearance from posting and come back with another piercing complaint, since I'm getting my rook pierced in March (I'll be 16 by then... probably going to go piercing crazy...) ... I have terrible luck!**


	19. Paradise Lost

**So um... yeah. I'm back? I KNOW it's been a ridiculously long time... I really am horrible with this stuff. I promise you I will **_**not**_** take this long for the next chapter – I mean it this time! (I've got it written already! Mostly... haha.) As an apology, I've revised this entire story. I've changed the chapters slightly, fixed some grammatical errors, changed some song titles, added some info... etc. It's still not perfect, but it's **_**much much much**_** better than before. You might have to re-read previous chapters before this one, since it's been so LONG, so I hope that'll be a nice improvement for you all... I also made this chapter a bit longer than I usually make them. But still, I am REALLY sorry for making you all wait. The only reason I'm really posting this now is because I've been playing Red Dead Redemption and it totally inspired me to not give up on this... Haha. Such a great game. But it was also because of all of you! Despite the inactivity of this story, I've still been getting reviews and even private messages asking about an update! I love you guys and how you're so interested in this story! :D This is for you!  
**  
_**Disclaimer**__:__ Still don't own a thing  
__**Warnings:**__ Fluff, cheesiness galore, possible bad writing, character death, angst_

* * *

_**Chapter 18 – Paradise Lost**_ (Hollywood Undead)

Rukia's smile never faltered as she rested her back against Ichigo's chest, the two sitting on her bed as Ichigo retold his and Rangiku's journey to rescue the raven-haired female.

"...and then halfway here, we ran into this group of thugs. We totally kicked their asses, and even made some profit." Ichigo smirked widely. "I'm actually pretty sure they were working for Byakuya. They were headed the same way, and their clothing looked a little like what his gang wears."

Rukia frowned. "Gang?" She lifted herself off of Ichigo's chest and turned on the bed to face him. "What do you mean?" Ichigo blinked.

"You don't _honestly_ think your brother is all that innocent, do you?"

"Of course not!" Rukia said. "I just... didn't know he was involved in _gangs_."

"Yeah, he's the boss of a pretty large gang." Ichigo sighed, pushing himself off of Rukia's headboard and stretching his back. "They're involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, and robberies." Rukia's eyes widened.

"You're _not_ serious." She whispered. Ichigo nodded solemnly.

"You wouldn't believe how bad it is." He said quietly, picking idly at a loose thread on Rukia's blanket. "No one would ever really guess Byakuya was behind it all, considering he has henchmen to do all his dirty work for him... He just gives them the orders. He's more of a behind the scenes kinda guy."

"So... what does this mean, Ichigo?" Rukia looked up at him sadly. Ichigo frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well... You'll have to do _something_ about him, right?" Rukia said quietly.

"You're right." Ichigo said. "I will have to do something. I've been after him for years, Rukia, and it's not going to stop any time soon. It's going to go 'til the end."

"So you guys have been after each other for longer than I thought..." Rukia whispered, looking down at her lap. "This is more serious than I ever imagined."

Ichigo sighed deeply and reached over, grabbing Rukia's hands and enclosing them in his. She looked up at him curiously. "It's not just that, Rukia..."

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked quietly.

"While we do have a bit of a problem with each other, Byakuya and I, there's more to it than that. I do want to get rid of him for the sake of destroying his gang, but it's also for us." Ichigo told her. "You and I... we can't be together with Byakuya around. He'll do whatever he can to kill me. You know that, right?" Rukia nodded, dreading what Ichigo would say next. "So that means... I'm going to have to kill Byakuya."

"Do you really have to?" Rukia's voice shook as she spoke. Ichigo sighed and nodded.

"There's nothing else I can do. Besides, Rukia... he's a terrible person. He really is. You don't understand how many lives he's ruined... how many people he's killed, scarred for life..."

Rukia shut her eyes tightly, lowering her head. "... I understand. It's just something that needs to be done." She choked out, forcing herself not to cry. Though she and Byakuya did not have a good relationship, it still pained her to know that her own brother had to be killed.

"Hey, don't be like that..." Ichigo said. "I don't wanna marry someone who's gonna be depressed all the time." He joked, attempting to lighten the mood. Rukia's head shot up and she looked at him, wide-eyed.

"...Marry?" She asked slowly, heart pounding.

Ichigo grinned widely and held Rukia's hands tightly. He slid off of the bed and tugged her to stand up with him. Rukia's eyes widened as she watched the orange-haired man slowly lower himself onto one knee. She took in a deep breath as Ichigo's grip on her hands loosened and he gently entwined their fingers together. "Rukia Kuchiki..." he smiled widely. "Once this is all over... will you marry me?"

Rukia gasped, tears springing to her eyes. "Y-yes! Of course!" She shrieked, throwing her arms around Ichigo, hugging him tightly. Ichigo grinned, standing up and lifting Rukia, holding her against him tightly.

"You mean it?" He whispered into her ear. Rukia nodded quickly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Definitely." She smiled. Ichigo smiled warmly in return as he put her down on her own feet.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo and Rukia quickly turned to face the door and saw that Rangiku was standing there, panting heavily. "I-I held them off as long as I could, but they're sending back-up! You need to leave _now_!"

"I'm coming, Rangiku." Ichigo nodded and Rangiku shut the door, rushing back down the stairs. Rukia swallowed deeply and looked at her new fiancé.

"Please be safe..." she whispered. Ichigo smiled and nodded, leaning down and giving her a short, sweet kiss.

"I will. I love you, Rukia." He said seriously. Rukia's eyes filled with tears once more and she clenched her fists together tightly as Ichigo backed away from her, giving her one last glance before he climbed out the window.

Rukia watched sadly as he left, and once he was gone, she let out a deep sigh and headed for her closet. She opened the door and glanced inside, beginning to pull out clothes. She might as well be prepared this time...

* * *

Ichigo rushed down the alleyway, his head darting from side to side for any sign of an enemy in the buildings lining the way. He quickly pulled one of his guns out of their holster and cocked it, before poking his head out of the end of the alleyway and slowly peering to the right. Once he saw the coast was clear, he quickly rushed out of the alleyway and towards an abandoned saloon with broken windows.

He quickly kicked open the door and went inside, crouching below one of the broken windows and peering his head over slightly so he was able to examine the empty area outside. Ichigo saw two men in identical uniforms – Byakuya's uniforms – enter the area and he quickly aimed his gun outside of the window at the men.

Slowly, the men came closer to the abandoned building. Ichigo's breath hitched and his finger twitched against the gun trigger. "Come on..." he whispered to himself. Why couldn't he shoot? He had a _perfect_ shot at the men... But he just couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. "Damn it, come _on_!" He hissed at himself. "You've done it before... think of Nnoitra..."

"Let's check in here." One man said to the other, pointing at the empty saloon Ichigo was hiding in. Ichigo swore at himself as the men left his view, heading for the building. As soon as they entered the building, Ichigo jumped up from his crouching position, shot at the men, and hopped out the window. He ignored the slight pain of the broken glass cutting into his arms and rolled onto the dirt floor. One man began to swear while the other howled in pain. Ichigo exhaled slowly. So he shot one of them...

"You bastard!" One roared as the both of them rushed out of the building. Ichigo saw that one of them was clutching his ear, blood trickling out of it. The teen felt a slight wave of relief as he realized he had not killed the man – he simply injured him.

Quickly breaking out of his thoughts, Ichigo dodged the men's bullets. He shot back at them, unable to hit them as well. He managed to knock off one man's hat, but never actually harmed the man. "What do you want?" Ichigo yelled as he ducked behind a wooden support stand outside of the saloon.

"We wanna play dress-up," One of Byakuya's henchmen scoffed. "What the hell do ya _think_ we want?"

"Where's Byakuya?" Ichigo quickly aimed his gun at one of the men from behind the wooden post and shot, unfortunately missing once more. He just _couldn't_ bring himself to hit them... What if it was a fatal shot? He didn't want to experience that again, no matter how important it was to get rid of these men.

"That's none of yer business now is it?" The men were getting closer. Ichigo took in a deep breath and rolled out from behind the post, taking out both of his guns now and shooting them simultaneously at both of the men. The men were able to dodge his bullets and quickly rushed for the younger man. Ichigo stumbled to his feet and finally aimed his bullet at one of the men's heads, ready to pull the trigger...

Until he suddenly heard a loud gunshot... a gunshot that seemed to be _so much_ louder than any of the previous...

Before he could comprehend it, Ichigo found himself flying backwards and slamming into the hard brick wall of the saloon, the sound of the gunshot echoing in his head over and over again. It was suddenly very difficult to breathe. The teen found himself unable to move and pain flooded throughout his entire body.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he weakly glanced down to see blood spilling out of his shoulder. The man with the bloody ear had shot Ichigo in the shoulder. The strawberry-blond teen let out an ear-deafening scream and brought his right hand over to cover the wound in his left shoulder. Even the littlest movement was sending sparks of pain to every nerve in his body. Almost immediately, Ichigo began to feel wave after wave of severe nausea. He shut his eyes tightly and grit his teeth, forcing himself not to be sick.

"_Fuck_!" Ichigo swore loudly, unable to control the small tears squeezing through his tightly shut eyes. The pain was absolutely horrific – Ichigo had _never_ experienced anything like this. He felt like throwing up his guts. His breath was coming in broken, shallow pants. It even hurt to _breathe_.

"Oh, what's the problem? Never been shot b'fore? Poor wittle baby!" One of Byakuya's henchmen teased. "You're lucky we didn't kill ya. Byakuya told us to leave ye for himself."

"Nah, I kinda like this better." The other smirked. "It makes 'im suffer more, don't ya think?"

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" Ichigo managed to choke out

"And why should we?" One of the men retorted. "What're _you _gonna do to us?"

"We should just finish 'im off. This is pitiful." The other sighed. Ichigo growled.

"If you two don't get the fuck out of here _now_, I'll kill both of you!" He roared, removing his now-bloody hand from his shoulder and reaching for the gun in his holster. The men immediately began to back up as Ichigo cocked his gun.

"I wouldn't do that." One of the men warned, aiming his gun back at Ichigo. Ichigo smirked.

"Oh, are you gonna shoot me?" He teased. "I'd _love_ to see you try! Considering Byakuya would personally _murder_ you two if you killed me and managed to escape." At this, the man blinked a few times, and then sighed, putting his gun back into its holster.

"You stupid piece o' shit..." He muttered, glaring at Ichigo. "Fine, we a'int gonna kill you. But jus' so you know, that hole in yer arm there, if you don't do somethin' 'bout it, you'll die before you even _find_ Byakuya."

"Shut up and leave, or I'll shoot you where you stand." Ichigo warned, his finger resting on the trigger. The two men glared at him, before turning around and heading away. Ichigo smirked, but rather than put his gun away, he aimed for one of the men's shoulders – the man who had shot him. As soon as he had locked in on his desired target, Ichigo pulled the trigger and the gunshot rang throughout the empty town before the bullet planted itself deeply in the man's shoulder. He fell to the ground and let out a blood-curdling howl of pain, clutching his shoulder tightly. The other man turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Ichigo standing there, smirking, a smoking gun in his hand.

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Ichigo called out to the crying man rolling in the dirt.

"You stupid son of a –!" The other man roared, immediately reaching for the gun in his holster. Before he could properly aim it and fire at Ichigo, the strawberry-blond quickly ran the opposite way, dodging every bullet the man shot at him, and dived into another alleyway. "I'm going to get you! I promise that, you stupid piece of shit!" The angry man's roars soon faded off as Ichigo headed down the alley quickly, clutching his wounded shoulder once again. He winced. It really _did _hurt...

He paused for a moment, checking to make sure no one was around, and then quickly ripped off a piece of white cloth from his long sleeve shirt. He tied it around his shoulder and made sure that it put enough pressure on his wound, hissing as the pressure only made it worse. The nausea suddenly began to hit again, and Ichigo felt himself wobble slightly. He shut his eyes tightly and waited a moment. Once he had composed himself, he opened his eyes and continued down the alley once more.

Once he continued down the alleyway, Ichigo noticed that he was coming to a dead end. "Shit!" He hissed, slowing down. He couldn't go back out the other way – those men would probably still be there. He looked around, finding no way out. There were no back doors of buildings, or boxes or crates that he could climb up. He was simply stuck in a dark dead-ended alleyway.

"Looks like you're trapped." A smooth voice rang out in the silence. Ichigo snapped his head to the dark corner of the dead end, eyes widening as Byakuya stepped out of the shadow. "That's unfortunate."

"Byakuya." Ichigo glared, his voice slightly shaky.

"You don't look too happy to see me." Byakuya commented. "I'm quite hurt."

"Shut up, don't play games with me!" Ichigo roared. "I'm here to settle this!"

"Settle this?" Byakuya repeated. "You seem so... _confident_."

"Damn right I am confident." Ichigo spat. "I'm going to _kill_ you."

"Oh, what a big threat." Byakuya gasped mockingly. "I don't think you can do it."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" Ichigo growled. Byakuya smirked lightly.

"Well, first of all," he said, lifting a hand and pointing a thin finger at Ichigo's shoulder, where blood was soaking the shirt. It had gotten through his makeshift bandage. "It looks as though my men have already gotten to you... and that arm looks quite useless now."

"Well, now there's more of an advantage for you, now isn't there?" Ichigo smirked widely. Byakuya scoffed in amusement.

"Second of all," the raven-haired man continued, "I've seen you use that gun before, Kurosaki Ichigo. You may be a skilled gunman, but you're not a killer. I'm almost convinced you've _never_ killed a man with those flashy guns of yours. What makes you so sure you'll be able to do it now?"

Ichigo did not respond. He simply growled and lunged for Byakuya. He managed to tackle the older man to the hard pavement, planting his legs firmly on either side of him and holding his shoulders down with as much force as his arms could muster, _very_ aware of the bullet in his shoulder. He glared down at him evilly, enjoying the way Byakuya's strong expression slightly faltered.

"Actually, I'm _not_ going to kill you with a gun." Ichigo told him, a malicious glint in his eyes. "It wouldn't be _half_ as fun. I'm gonna kill you with my _bare hands._" As Byakuya opened his mouth to respond, Ichigo quickly silenced him by bringing back one tightly-clenched fist, and hurling it forward with all his might, straight into Byakuya's jaw. Byakuya let out a howl of pain, and Ichigo continued to brutally assault the raven-haired man with his fists, ignoring the sharp pain in his knuckles and the absolutely horrific jolt of pain in his shoulder.

"Hundreds of people lost their _families_ because of you," Ichigo growled in-between punches. "Women are treated like _shit_ because of you... Orihime and Yachiru died because of you... Rukia had to go through _hell_ because of you... Rangiku is –"

Ichigo was cut off when Byakuya suddenly managed to grab the teen's hand mid-punch, a wild glint in his eyes. Ichigo hissed and began to struggle, trying to wrench out of his vice-like grip. "Do you want to know what else I did, Kurosaki?" Byakuya whispered harshly, licking blood from the corner of his mouth. "Who was it that killed your family?"

Ichigo ceased his attempts to break his hands free and stared down at the man's bloody and bruised face. "Kaname Tousen. I don't see how this is important right now. I'll deal with Tousen when I'm done with _you_." He began to struggle again, but Byakuya quickly bent Ichigo's arms backwards, causing him to yelp and remain still

"Do you know who sent Kaname?" Byakuya continued. Ichigo didn't reply, feeling something churning in the pit of his stomach.

"I did." Byakuya smirked. Ichigo's eyes widened and his blood ran cold. "I sent Kaname to kill your family."

"Wh...what?" Ichigo was speechless. "You... my family..." he stared in disbelief at the man below him for a moment, then regained his composure. "Why?" He screamed, trying to rip himself from Byakuya's grip once more. "You _told _him to? Why? What the _fuck_ did we do to you?" Ichigo was slowly becoming hysterical. So it was all Byakuya's fault...

"Because I hated your father!" Byakuya growled. Ichigo froze, staring down at him. "I hated your father... because he stole the woman I loved from me."

"What...?" Ichigo whispered.

"Masaki was a beautiful, smart woman... Everyone admired her." Byakuya said. "I was in love with her... and she knew it. She never gave me a chance, though, and eventually married that bastard Isshin. I hated him for it... Eventually you were born, followed by your two sisters. I was _furious_... Isshin always bragged about you... always said you were his life, and how he wouldn't know what to do without you... It made me so angry. I wanted to kill all of you.

"I sent Tousen after your family and he killed all of them... all of them except for you. I told him to keep you alive, so that I could kill you myself. I wanted to see Isshin's only hope in life die by my hands. You were supposed to be _mine_!" Byakuya roared, glaring viciously at Ichigo. "You were supposed to be _my_ child with Masaki – not Isshins! Isshin stole _everything_ from me!"

Ichigo was absolutely speechless. He simply stared down at Byakuya, shaking violently as he attempted to digest all of this information that was suddenly hurled at him. It was all too confusing... but Byakuya... It was all Byakuya.

"Y-you... You..." Ichigo choked out, unable to continue. Suddenly, there was a demonic glint in his eyes. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING _KILL_ YOU!" He screamed, roughly ripping his hands out of Byakuya's grasp and wrapping them around his thin, pale neck. Byakuya's eyes widened and he began to choke, desperately clawing at Ichigo's hands in an attempt to pull him away, to no avail. Ichigo's eyes shut tightly and he kept his hands firmly in place, tightly wrapped around Byakuya's neck while the older man struggled violently. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes to see the color in Byakuya's face change. The cruel man gave him one last, evil look, before closing his eyes forever.

Once Ichigo felt Byakuya's struggling cease, he examined him closely to assure he was no longer breathing, and let go of his neck where bruises in the form of hands were beginning to form. He took in a deep, shaky breath, and stood up. He backed up slowly and slumped against the alley wall, staring at Byakuya's lifeless body as he clutched his wounded, throbbing shoulder tightly.

Ichigo slid down the wall until he was sitting on the dirty cement, and began to sob. He covered his face and let all of his tears that had been bottled up for so long finally fall. He cried for himself, for his family, Renji, Orihime, Yachiru, Rangiku, Rukia, and Byakuya. He cried for all of the victims of Byakuya's selfish and cruel games, and for the victims of his own robberies. It was all in that moment that Ichigo realized that this was not the life he wanted to live. He didn't want to be like Byakuya.

Once this war was over, he would never be involved in this again.

That is, if he made it out of the war first.

* * *

**Erm, yeah, I killed Byakuya... I've had this scene written for a painfully long time, and I'm SO glad it's finally on here. It's honestly one of my favorites, for some reason... I just really enjoyed writing this, as morbid as that sounds.  
The BYakuya scene has always been one my favorites and so I put a lot of work into it... I REALLY hope it turned out well. I'm sorry that certain parts were rushed, like when Ichigo was fighting the two henchemen. I literally _just_ finished that scene minutes before uploading this. Erm, and I do _not_ know how it feels to get shot by a real gun, so I imrpovised. I _do_ know how it feels with those stupid bb guns and airsoft guns, but I'm sure it's not nearly the same. LOL. Especially when it's lodged in your shoulder... Ergh  
Anyways, look forward to an update soon! Thanks so much for reading! I'll update my other two Bleach fics SOOOOOOON. Promise.  
P.S – I saw Inception last night! I loved it – it was absolutely MINDBLOWING! I felt like I was dreaming afterwards... Haha. What did you guys think of it?**

**PLEASE READ!  
**I know I've asked before, but there's a chance in the months it took me to upload that there could be a change/new readers, so I'll ask again... **Do you want a happy or sad ending**? If you choose a happy ending, the next chapter will be the final chapter. If you choose sad, I'll also add an epilogue so it's not _too_ sad... I've written one of the two, and while I do like it, I'm not sure what you all want to see! PLEASE let me know. This is really stressin' me out 'cause I don't want anyone to be unhappy with whatever I've written... haha. Thanks so much!


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